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EDITED BY 

WILLIAM T. HARRIS, A. M., LL. D. 



Volume V. 



History and criticism combined make possible a theory of the whole. 
For, with an ideal toward which the entire movement tends, and an ac- 
count of the phases that have appeared in time, the connected develop- 
ment of the whole can be shown, and all united into one system. 

Lastly, after the science, comes the practice. The art of education is 
treated in special works devoted to the devices and technical details use- 
ful in the school-room. 

It is beheved that the teacher does not need authority so much as in- 
sight in matters of education. When he understands the theory of edu- 
cation and the history of its growth, and has matured his own point 
of view by careful study of the critical literature of education, then he is 
competent to select or invent such practical devices as are best adapted 
to his own wants. 

The series will contain works from European as well as American 
authors, and will be under the editorship of W. T. Harris, A. M., LL. D. 
The price for the volumes of the series will be $1.50 for the larger 
volumes, 75 cents for the smaller ones. 

Vol. I. The Philosophy of Education. By Johann Karl 

Friedrich Rosenkranz. 
Vol. II. A History of Education. By Prof. F. V. N. Painter, 

of Roanoke, Virginia. 

Vol. III. The Rise and Early Constitution of Univer- 
sities. With a Survey of Mediaeval Education. By S. S. Laurie, 
LL. D., Professor of the Institutes and History of Education in the 
University of Edinburgh. 

Vol. IV. The Ventilation and Warming of School 
SuildingS. By Gilbert B. Morrison, Teacher of Physics and 
Chemistry in Kansas City High-School. 

Vol. V. The Education of Man. By Friedrich Froebel. 
Translated from the German and annotated by W. N. Hailmann, 
Superintendent of Public Schools at La Porte, Indiana. 



INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES 
THE 

EDUCATION OF MAN 



/ 



BY 



FRIEDRICH FROEBEL 



TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN AXD ANNOTATED BY 

W. N. HAILMANN, A. M. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AT LA PORTE, INDIANA 



^ 




NEW YORK 
D. APPLE TON AND COMPANY 

issr 



/>V 



LBII5-3 
.H/V 



Copyright, 1887, 
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. 



EDITORS PEEFAOE. 



This work of Froebel admits us into his philosophy, 
and shov\^s us the fundamental principles upon which he 
based the kindergarten system. His great word is in- 
ner connection. There must be an inner connection 
between the pupil's mind and the objects which he 
studies, and this shall determine what to study. There 
must be an inner connection in those objects among 
themselves which determines their succession and the 
order in which they are to be taken up in the course of 
instruction. Finally, there is an inner connection with- 
in the soul that unites the faculties of feeling, percep- 
tion, phantasy, thought, and vohtion, and determines 
the law of their unfolding. Inner connection is in fact 
the law of development, the principle of evolution, and 
Froebel is the Educational Reformer who has done more 
than all the rest to make valid in education what the 
Germans call the " developing method." 

Unhke Pestalozzi, Froebel was a philosopher. The 
great word of the former is immediate jpercejption 
{rmschauen). Pestalozzi struggled to make all educa- 
tion begin with immediate perception and abide with it 
for a long period. Because, say his followers, sense- 



vi EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

perception is the source of all our knowledge. Froebel 
and his disciples would defend the great educational re- 
former by saying that by beginning with immediate 
perception education is sure of arousing the self -activity 
of the pupil. VFi'oebel's aim is to educate the pupil 
through his self -activity. This, we see at once, goes 
much further than the cultivation of perception. The 
pupil unfolds his will-power quite as much as his sense- 
perception, and by this arrives in the surest way at think- 
ing reason, which is the culmination of self-activity. 
The child is to begin with what he can easily grasp. 
That is well. But he must also begin with that which 
is attractive to him. The best of all is to begin with 
that activity which, while easy and attractivei, leads him 
forward, develops all his powers, and makes him 
master of himself. , 

Froebel goes down into the genesis of objects of 
study in order to discover the relation of such objects 
to the nourishment of mind. The chemists and physi- 
ologists have ascertained the relation of bread and meat 
to the sustenance of human life. Froebel has investi- 
gated the relation of the child's activities in play to the 
growth of his mind. The mind grows by seK-revelation. 
In play the child ascertains what he can do, and dis- 
covers his possibilities of will and thought by exerting 
his power spontaneously. In work he follows a task 
prescribed for him by another, and does not reveal his 
own proclivities and inclinations, but another's. In 
play he reveals his own original power. But there are 
two selves in the child — one is peculiar, arbitrary, ca- 
pricious, different fj'om all others, and hostile to them, 
and is founded on short-sighted egotism. The other 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. vii 

self is reason, common to all humanity, unselfisli and 
universal, feeding on truth and beauty and holiness. 
Both of these selves are manifested in play. There is 
revelation of bad as well as of good. Froebel, accord- 
ingly, attempts to organize a system of education that 
•y^will unfold the rational self and chain down the irra- 
tional. He wishes to cultivate selfhood and repress 
selfishness. This must be done, if done effectively, by 
the pupil himself. If he does not chain the demon 
within him, external constraint will do it, but at the 
same time place its chains on the human being who has 
permitted his demon to go loose. Self-conquest is the 
only basis of true freedom. 

The insights of Froebel into the unfolding of rational 
selfhood have enabled him to organize the method of 
infant education to wliich he, in 1840, gave the name 
of " Kindergarten." In the work here presented to the 
public, which was published fourteen years before that 
date, we have a discussion of the essential ideas which 
moved him in his subsequent experiments to discover 
the methods and more especially the appliances to be 
employed in early education. 

Pestalozzi uttered the noble sentiment that all should 
be educated. All children of men are children of the 
same God, and all are born for an infinite career. This 
Christian doctrine he construed to mean that all should 
receive alike a school education, developing the intellect, 
and giving it possession of the power to master tlie treas- 
ures of science — the wisdom of the race. This intellect- 
ual education it should have, as well as religious and 
moral education and training in a special industrial call- 
ing (education in religion, morality, and industry had 



viii EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

long been conceded). Froebel shares Pestalozzi's en- 
lightened sentiments, but goes further in the matter of 
method. He invents an efficient means for securing the 
development of the child between the ages of three and 
six years — a period when the child is not yet ready for 
the conventional studies of the school — a period when 
he is not mature enough for work, and when there is no 
temptation on the part of the parent to employ him at 
any labor. The child has, by the beginning of his fourth 
year, begun to outgrow the merely family life, and to 
look at the outside world with interest. He endeavors 
to symbolize life as it appears to him by plays and games. 
The parents are unable to give the child within the 
house all the education that he needs at this period. He 
needs association with other children and with teachers 
from beyond the family circle. Froebel's invention is 
the happiest educational means for this symbolic epoch 
of infancy. 

Froebel sees better than other educators the true 
means of educating the feelings, and especially the re- 
ligious feelings. He reaches those feelings that are the 
germs of the intellect and will. It must be always borne 
in mind that clear ideas and useful deeds exist in the 
heart as undefined sentiments before they are born in 
the intellect and will. 

Froebel is, in a peculiar sense, a religious teacher. 
All who read this book on the Education of Man will 
see that he is not only full of faith in God, but that his 
intellect is likewise illumined by theology. He sees the 
worlds of physical nature and human history as firmly 
established on a divine unity which to him is no ab- 
straction but a creative might and a living Providence. 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. ix 

God to liim is infinite reason. Pestalozzi lias the piety 
of the heart, while Froebel has also the piety of the in- 
tellect, which sees God as the principle of truth. 

The work before us is divided substantially into two 
parts : The first deals with general principles and con- 
siders the development of man during infancy and boy- 
hood. The second part (beginning with § 60) discusses 
the chief subjects of instruction, grouping them under 
(1) religion, (2) natural science and mathematics, (3) 
language, (4) art. 

Especial attention is called to §§ 68-73, wherein the 
author deduces the forms of the crystal exhaustively 
from the nature of force and space, and makes some 
application of it to botany and human development. 
This deduction is worthy of the fertile and suggestive 
mind of Schelling or Oken. In subsequent sections he 
asserts (to our no small surprise) that even mathematics 
is the expression of life as such. 

But Parts I and II (§§ 1-44) contain the most im- 
portant doctrines of the work, and deserve a thorough 
annual study by every teacher's reading club in the 
land. A good plan for study is to form small classes of 
three to eight members, and meet weekly for two hours' 
discussion of the text, sentence by sentence. The slower 
one goes over the book, the faster grows his original 
power of thinking, and his ability to read profound and 
difficult writings. 

Perhaps the greatest merit of Froebel's system is to 
be found in the fact that it furnishes a deep philosophy 
for the teachers. Most pedagogic works furnish only 
a code of management for the school-room. Froebel 
gives a view of the world in substantial agreement with 



X EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

the spiritual systems of pliilosopby that have prevailed 
in the world. A view of the world is a perpetual stimu- 
lant to thought — always prompting one to reflect on the 
immediate fact or event before him, and to discover its 
relation to the ultimate principle of the universe. It 
is the only antidote for the constant tendency of the 
teacher to sink into a dead formalism, the effect of too 
much iteration and of the practice of adjusting knowl- 
edge to the needs of the feeble-minded by perpetual ex- 
planation of what is already simple ad nauseam for the 
mature intelligence of the teacher. It produces a sort of 
pedagogical cramp in the soul for which there is no 
remedy like a philosophical view of the world, unless, 
perhaps, it be the study of the greatest poets, Shake- 
speare, Dante, or Homer. It is, I am persuaded, this 
fact — that Froebel refers his principles to a philosophic 
view of the world — ^that explains the almost fanatical zeal 
of his followers, and, what is far more significant, the 
fact that those who persistently read his works are al- 
ways growing in insight and in power of higher achieve- 
ment. 

W. T. Harkis. 

CoJTOOED, Mass., August, 1887. 



TEAIiTSLATOE^S PEEFACE. 



" The Education of Man" appeared in 1826, under 
the title: Die Menschenerziehung, die Erziehungs- 
UnterricJds- und Lehrkunst, angestrebt in der allge- 
meinen deutschen Erziehungsanstalt zu Keilhau, darge- 
stellt von dem Vorsteher derselhen, F. W. A. Froehel. 
1. Band Us zum hegonnenen Knabenalter. Keilhau, 
1826. Verlag der Anstalt. Leipzig in Commission 
lei a F. Doerffling. JtB7 S* 

The very title-page reveals the history of the growth 
and development of this remarkable book. Similarly 
we read in the expressive countenance of a mature man 
or woman the life history of its possessor. 

Froebel established the Educationoil Institute at 
Keilhau, a small village of about one hundred inhabit- 
ants, in 18 IT. It was not a business enterprise in any 
sense of the word. Yielding to the entreaties of his 
widowed sister-in-law, he had given up excellent exter- 

* The Education of Man, the Art of Education, Instruction, 
and Training, aimed at in the Educational Institute at Keilhau, 
■written by its Principal, F. W. A. Froebel. Volume I ; to the begin- 
ning of Boyhood. Keilhau, 1826. Published by the Institute. 
Sold in Commission at Leipzig by C. F. Doerffling. 497 pp. 
2 



xii TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 

nal prospects in Berlin in order to undertake the educa- 
tion of her three bojs. To these, two other nephews 
were added, and MiddendorS had brought a younger 
brother of Langethal, who himseK joined the Httle band 
a few months later. Thus the six bovs and the three 
high-souled men — Froebel, Middendorff, and Lange- 
thal — constituted the nucleus of this remarkable enter- 
prise, established wholly in the interest of the new 
educational ideas of Froebel. 

In spite of many difficulties and vicissitudes that 
would have discouraged less faithful men, however, the 
institute grew even beyond the dimensions originally 
planned for it. Froebel had intended to hmit it to 
twenty-four pupils and the three teachers mentioned, 
but circumstances seemed to render it desirable or neces- 
sary to admit a greater number of pupils. Possibly 
this very success aroused the hostihty of low-minded 
men, which led to persecution by the Prussian Govern- 
ment on political and religious grounds, and the scatter- 
ing of the three friends ; and would have submerged 
the institute itself had it not been saved by the tact of 
Barop, who joined the enterprise in 1823, and assumed 
its control in 1833. Froebel himself had left it in 
1831. 

The persecutions on the part of the Prussian Gov- 
ernment induced the local duke to send Superintendent 
Zech to inspect the institution. The report of this visit 
throws so much light upon the character of Froebel's 
work and aims that I translate its essential portions in 
this place. He says, among other things : 

" Both days which I passed in the institute, almost 
as one of its members, as it were, were in every way 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. xiii 

pleasant to me, liiglilj interesting, and instructive. 
Tliej increased and strengthened mj respect for the 
institute as a whole, as well as for its director, who up- 
held and maintained it amid the storms of care and 
want with rare persistence and with the purest and 
most unselfish zeal. It is most pleasing to feel the in- 
fluence which goes out from the buoyant, vigorous, 
free, and yet orderly spirit that pervades this insti- 
tution, both in the lessons and at other times. 

" I found here what is never seen in actual practical 
life, a thoroughly and intimately united family of at 
least sixty members, living in quiet hainuony, all show- 
ing that they gladly perform the duties of their very 
different 2:)ositions ; a family held together by the strong 
ties of mutual confidence, and in wliich, consequently, 
every member seeks the interest of the whole, where 
all things thrive in joy and love, apparently without 
effort. 

" With great respect and real affection all turn to the 
principal ; the little five-year-old children hang about 
his knees, while his friends and assistants hear and 
honor his advice with the confidence due to his insight 
and experience, and to his indefatigable zeal in the in- 
terest of the institution ; and he himself seems to love 
in brotherHness and friendship his fellow-workers, as 
the props and pillars of his life-work, which to him is 
truly a holy work. 

" It is evident that a feeling of such perfect har- 
mony and unity among the teachers must in every way 
exert the most salutary influence on the discipline and 
instruction, and on the pupils themselves. The love 
and resj^ect in which the latter hold all their teachers is 



xiv TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 

shown in a degree of attention and obedience that ren- 
ders needless abnost all disciplinary severity. During 
the two days I heard no reproving word from the lips 
of the teachers, neither in the joyous tumult of inter- 
mission nor during the time of instruction ; the merri- 
est confusion with which, after instruction, all sought 
the play-ground, was free from every indication of ill- 
breeding, of rude and unmannerly, and, most of all, of 
immoral conduct. Perfectly free and equal among 
themselves, reminded of their privileges of rank and 
birth neither by their attire nor by their names — for 
each pupil is called only by his Christian name — the 
pupils, great and small, live in joyousness and serenity, 
freely intermingling, as if each obeyed only his own 
law, like the sous of one father ; and while all seem un- 
restrained, and use their powers and carry on their plays 
in freedom, they are under the constant supervision of 
their teachers, who either observe them or take part in 
their plays, equally subject with them to the laws of 
the game. 

"Every latent power is aroused in so large and 
united a family, and finds a place where it can exert it- 
self ; every inclination finds an equal or similar inclina- 
tion, more clearly pronounced than itself, by which it 
can strengthen itself ; but no impropriety can thrive, for 
whoever would commit some excess punishes himself, 
the others no longer need him, he is simply left out of 
the circle. If he would return, he must learn to adapt 
himself, he must become a better boy. Thus the boys 
guide, reprove, punish, educate, cultivate one another 
unconsciously, by the most varied incitements to activ- 
ity and by mutual restriction. 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. XV 

" The agreeable impression of the institution as a 
whole is increased by the doftiestic order which is 
everywhere manifest, and which alone can give co- 
herence to so large a family by a punctuality free from 
all pedantry, and by a cleanhness which is rarely met in 
so high a degree in educational institutions. 

" This vigorous and free, yet well-ordered, outer life, 
has its perfect counterpart in the inner life of heart and 
mind that is here aroused and established. Instruction 
leads the five-year-old child simply to find himself, to 
differentiate himself from external things, and to dis- 
tinguish these among themselves, to know clearly what 
he sees in his nearest surroundings, and, at the same 
time, to designate it with the right words, to enjoy his 
first knowledge as the first contribution toward his 
future intellectual treasure. SeK-activity of the mind 
is the first law of instraction ; . . . slowly, continuous- 
ly, and in logical succession it proceeds . . . from the 
simple to the complex, from the concrete to the ab- 
stract, so well adapted to the child and his needs, that 
he learns as eagerly as he plays ; nay, I noticed how the 
little children, whose lesson had been somewhat delayed 
by my arrival, came in tears to the principal of the in- 
stitution and asked ' should they to-day always play and 
never learn, and were only the big boys to be taught 
to-day ? ' 

" In the last winter semester the pupils of the high- 
est grade of the classical course read Horace, Plato, 
Phaedrus, and Demosthenes, and translated Cornelius 
Kepos into Greek. On the day of my first visit, when 
I looked more closely into the elementary instruction, I 
could not suppress the wish that the instruction might 



xvi TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 

be sucli in all elementary schools. Now, when I in- 
spected the classical instruction, which has been in 
operation fully only since 1820, I was compelled to ad- 
mire the progress and the intense thoroughness of the 
school in this short time ; . . . and I was as thoroughly 
gratified by the instruction as I was by the discipline. 

" My experience was the same as that of all impar- 
tial examiners of the institution. Of all strangers who 
had visited and inspected the institution, and whose 
opinion I heard, none left without being pleased, and 
many whom I deem specially competent came away 
full of enthusiasm, and fully appreciated the high aim 
of the institution, and the perfectly natural method it 
follows in order to attain its object as surely and com- 
pletely as possible. This object is by no means mere 
knowledge, but the free, self-active development of the 
mind from within. Nothing is added from without 
except to enlighten the mind, to strengthen the pupil's 
power, and to add to his joy by enhancing his con- 
sciousness of growing power. The principal of the in- 
stitution beholds with enthusiasm the nobility that 
adorns the mind and heart of the all-sidedly developed 
human being ; in the high destiny of such a man he has 
found the aim of his work, which is to develop the 
whole man, whose inner beings is established between 
true insight and true religiousness as its poles. Every 
pupil is to unfold this from his own inner life, and is to 
become in the serene consciousness of his own power 
what this power may enable him to become. 

" "What the pupils know is not a shapeless mass, but 
has form and hfe, and is, if at all possible, immediately 
applied in life. Each one is, as it were, familiar with 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. xvii 

himself ; there is not a trace of thoughtless repetition | 
of the words of others, nor of vague knowledge among 
any of the pupils. What they express they have in- '; 
wardly seen, and is enounced as from inner necessity 
with clearness and decision. Even the objections of 
the teachers can not change their opinion until they 
have clearly seen their error. Whatever they take up 
they must he able to think/ what they can not think 
they do not take up. Even dull grammar, with its host 
of rules, begins to live with them, inasmuch as they are 
taught to study each language with reference to the 
history, habits, and character of the respective people. 
Thus seen, the institution is a gymnasium in the fullest 
sense, for all that is done becomes mental gymnastics. 

" Happy the children who can be taught here from 
earliest school-life (six years) ! If all schools could be 
transformed into such educational institutions, they 
would send out in a few generations a people intel- 
lectually stronger, and, in spite of original depravity, 
purer, nobler." 

I have reproduced this documentary evidence be- 
cause I desired to show that Eroebel was not a dreamer 
nor an emjDty enthusiast, but that his " Education of 
Man," like all his other writings of this and subsequent 
periods, flowed from the fullness of an earnest, practical 
life, that struggled in every way to utter itself pro- 
ductively, creatively, in full, teeming deeds. 

Again, I desired to show once for all that his educa- 
tional principles and methods, like his practical educa- 
tional activity, were not confined to the earliest years 
of childhood, but embraced the entire impressionable 
period of human life. It is true, the succeeding vol- 



Xviii TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 

limes of the " Education of Man " were never written ; 
not, however, because thej were not clear and complete 
in Froebel's mind when he gave us his first volume, but 
rather because he was too much taken up with efforts to 
live them out practically against untold hindrances. 

The report of Commissioner Zeh averted, indeed, 
the immediate and forcible dissolution of the Keilhau 
Institute, but it could not undo the indirect evil effects 
of the Prussian persecution. By this the little colony 
was reduced to straits that placed book-publishing and 
even book-writing beyond the power of its members. 
It is true, in the very next year after Commissioner 
Zeh's report (in 1826), the first volume appeared. Yet 
the institute had not enough popularity left to induce a 
publisher to assume the risk of the work, although there 
w^as still enough substance and faith in the little band 
to enable it to do this independently. 

Immediately after the publication, however, affairs 
rapidly grew w^orse. In 1829 the number of pupils had 
been reduced from sixty to five, and in 1831 Froebel 
was driven from his post, although the enterprise was 
still kept up in the hands of friends. 

The greatness of Froebel's soul appears at no time 
in a brighter light than it does in these days of trouble. 
On the first day of April, 1829, he wrote : " I look upon 
my work as unique in our time, as necessary for it, and 
as salutary for all time. In its action and reaction, it 
will give to mankind all that it needs and seeks in 
every direction of its tendencies and being. I have no 
complaint whatever that others should think differently ; 
I can endure them ; I even can — as I have proved — live 
with them; but I can not have with them the same 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. xix 

aim, tlie same purpose in life. However, this is not 
mj fault, but theirs ; I do not cut them off, they do it 
themselves." 

"What high and perfect faith speaks from these 
words ! Ko wonder if his contemporaries, still groping 
in the darker depths of the valley, failed to see him on 
his height, and, still more, to appreciate his higher aspi- 
rations. 1^0 wonder if even now many, who have 
laboriously climbed half way up the eminence, sit down 
in weariness and despondency, turn their backs upon 
his light, and gaze longingly down upon the rank weeds 
that gave them sustenance below. Poor creatures ! the 
light that holds blessedness they contemn because of 
their weakness, and the few imperishable rays that 
bave entered their souls have irretrievably lifted them 
out of the darkness they cberish. 

It would be a most grateful task to present in this 
preface a succinct review of Froebel's great plan of 
education ; to sbow it in its complete unity and perfect 
harmony ; to sketch how he receives the almost uncon- 
scious child from the hands of the Eternal and leads him 
surely and persistently to eager, conscious unity with the 
infinite source of life and being — how in earhest child- 
hood he kindles the religious sense — the sense of com- 
plete, all-sided, responsible kinship with all created 
things — and gently fans it into a mighty blaze of uni- 
versal good- will — ^how skillfully he enables the child to 
gather golden harvests of knowledge and skill from the 
burdened fields of experience and life, and again to sow 
tliese in an intensely creative life of unwearied, vigor- 
ous well-doing for the sustenance and uplifting of gen- 
erations to come — hov/ completely he blends in the 



XX TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 

bosom of a holy family tlie interests of the individual, 
of fellowmen, of mankind, and leads all to an ever- 
creative worship of an ever-creative God — how he im- 
parts to his pupils a thorough knowledge of the inner 
connection and oneness of all things, and enables them 
to control and handle in life and for life all they know of 
life — how, thus, he tills them with an eager thirst for ever 
wider and higher knowledge and with a holy hunger 
for ever broader and deeper eificiency in whatever 
practical calling may be theirs — and how, by showing 
the intrinsic importance and indispensableness of every 
calling and occupation, he plants in every human being 
the feeling that on his efficiency depends the welfare of 
the whole, a sense of inner, responsible manhood which 
is the measure of true worth in every station of life, a 
practical, real Christianity that holds every human be- 
ing, as a beloved manifestation of The Man, equally in 
the bosom of the Father. To the reader, however, who 
will thoughtfully and reverentially peruse the book, 
such a review would bring little help, inasmuch as the 
book shows all these things more clearly and powerfully 
than such a review could do. 

In 1836, Froebel, in a remarkable essay on " The Re- 
newal of Life," pointed to the United States of America 
as the country best fitted, by virtue of its spirit of free- 
dom, true Christianity, and pure family life, to receive his 
educational message and to profit thereby. To a large 
extent, his prophecy has already been realized. May this 
translation help to hasten and strengthen its still further 
and fuller realization ! 

w. N. hailman:^?. 

La Pokte, Ind., August, 1887. 



ANALYTICAL INDEX. 



I. Groundwork of the Whole. — § 1. Universal law ; unity ; 
God. § 2. Destiny and life-work of man ; education defined. § 3. 
Science of education ; theory and practice. § 4. Value of wisdom ; 
need of education. § 5. Object of education. § 6. Method of educa- 
tion ; law of inverse inference ; misunderstandings. § 7. Originally 
passive character of education. § 8. Development needs freedom ; 
dangers of mandatory education ; proper time for mandatory educa- 
tion. § 9. Free self-activity, a requirement of the divine origin of 
man. § 10, Human perfection can serve as a model only in spirit. 
§ 11. Jesus, as an exemplar, calls for free, self-active development. 
§ 12. Faith and insight render the ideal mandatory ; law of opposites 
in good education ; education itself must obey law and banish des- 
potism. § 13. Teacher and pupU equally subject to the law of right. 
§ 14. Law of spiritual development. § 15. Man as a child of God ; as 
a child of humanity. § 16. Humanity developed in successive indi- 
vidual human beings. § 17. Duty of parents ; destiny of child. § 18. 
Trinity of relations — unity, individuality, diversity. § 19. Need of 
early education ; self-activity. § 20. Force, the child's first utter- 
ance ; joy and sorrow ; willfulness ; value of small suffering ; stage 
of infancy ; need of adjustment of surroundings ; the first smile. 
§ 21. Sense of community, as first germ of religious spirit ; the 
mother's prayer ; value of religious spirit. § 22. Continuity of de- 
velopment in the child's life, g 23. Creativeness ; productive work ; 
singleness of purpose ; relentlessness of law ; need of industrial work 
in education ; temperance. 

II. Man in the Period of Earliest Childhood. — § 24. The 
child finding his individuality ; agreement between the child's de- 



Xxii ANALYTICAL INDEX. 

velopment and all development ; dawn of reason ; agreement between 
the development of the individual and that of the race. § 25. De- 
velopment of the senses; law of connection of contrasts. § 26. 
Order of the senses. § 27. Muscular development ; standing ; play- 
ing with his limbs ; false habits ; need of watchfulness. § 28. Be- 
ginning of childhood ; language ; the family. § 29, Importance of 
childhood; play and speech. § 30. Play; nature of play; impor- 
tance of play; unity of child and surroundings. § 31. Food of the 
child ; simplicity necessary ; dangers of over-stimulation ; food only 
for nourishment. § 32. Clothing of the child. § 33. Object of pa- 
rental care; maternal instinct is not sufficient; sketch of the 
mother's work ; arousing self-conscxousness ; study of surroundings ; 
arousing self-activity : nursery of the *' worldly-wise " mother ; arous- 
ing the sense of community ; value of rhythmic movements ; spon- 
taneous association of ideas. § 34. Learning to stand and walk ; 
collecting material. § 35. Studying the material ; seeking the inner 
nature; parental indiflferenee crushes development; pernicious in- 
fluence of our short-sightedness, g 36. First attempts at drawing ; 
finding the chalk ; first sketches ; linear representation. § 37. Prog- 
ress of drawing- work ; parents need not be artists; need of de- 
scriptive words ; word and drawing. § 38. Drawing leads to num- 
ber ; development of number-notions ; need of objects. § 39. Wealth 
of the child's world. § 40. Helping father and mother; leading 
the horse ; attending the goslings ; the little gardener ; the forest- 
er's son ; the blacksmith, etc. ; harshness ; fostering independence ; 
joy of child-guidance ; development of industry. § 41. Our own 
dullness. § 42. " Let us live with our children." § 43. Importance 
of speech ; importance of inner unity. § 44. Misunderstandings 
from nearness of things ; difficulty of self-knowledge ; transition to 
boyhood. 

III. The Boyhood of Max. — § 45. Boyhood defined; insti-uc- 
tion ; school defined. § 46. Objects of the school. § 47. Will de- 
fined ; starting-point ; development of boyhood rests on childhood. 
§ 48. Importance of the family ; the family a type of life. § 49. 
Transition from play to work; formative instinct; desire to help 
the parents ; danger of repulsion ; indolence results ; inquisitiveness ; 
love of difficulties ; climbing ; exploring caves ; the garden ; love of 
water ; love of plastic material ; building ; sense of proprietorship ; 
common endeavor; group-work in school; at the brook; garden- 
ing; trials of strength and skill; sense of power; play-grounds; 



ANALYTICAL INDEX. xxiii 

home-industry ; love of the past ; love of tales and stories ; love of 
song ; symbolism of play. § 50. Actual boy-life very different from 
this ; causes of difference. § 51. Man essentially good. § 53. Nature 
and origin of falsehood ; how to overcome evil with good. § 58. In- 
fluence of common sympathy; faults of ignorance; the boy and 
the wig ; the boy and the bowl ; the broken window ; the boy and 
the pigeon ; how boys are made bad ; false conversion ; the boy and 
the beetle ; ravages of harsh words. § 54. Sins against childhood. 
§ 55. Seeking unity. 

IV. Man as a Scholar or Pupil. — § 56. Aim of the school ; aim 
of instruction ; the schoolmaster ; the faith of boyhood ; spirit of 
the school ; inner power of boyhood ; playing with this inner power ; 
the spirit makes the school. § 57. Need of schools. § 58. What 
shall schools teach? §59. Mind; nature; language. 

V. Chief Groups of Subjects of Instruction. — A. Religion 
and Religious Instruction. — § 60. Religion defined ; religious instruc- 
tion ; assumption of some degree of religion ; difficulty of under- 
standing original unity ; the thinker and the thought ; father and 
son ; spiritual unity. § 61. Essence of Christianity ; parental and 
filial relations, the key ; Sonship of Jesus ; Christian religion ; three- 
fold manifestation of God — unity, individuality, diversity. 

B. Natural Science and Mathematics. — § 62. Nature and relig- 
ion. § 63. Nature and art ; immortality of the spirit ; nature as 
God's work ; nature a revelation of God. § 64. Importance of na- 
ture-study to boyhood; excursions; loss of sensitiveness. § 65. 
Nature in inner and outer contemplation. § 66. External view un- 
connected. § 67. The boy's desire to find unity ; character of force ; 
the source of all things. § 68. Definition of force ; force and mat- 
ter ; spherical tendency of force./ § 69. The sphere ; origin of diver- 
sity in form and structure. § 70. Crystallization ; the crystal the 
first result of simply active force. /§ 71. Analogies between human 
and crystalline development. § 72. Laws of crystallogenic force ; 
the cube ; the octahedron ; the tetrahedron ; the " fall " of the oc- 
tahedron ; forms derived from the cube, etc. ; the rhombohedron 
and derivative forms ; compound and cumulative forms ; organized 
material, j^ 73. Living force ; vegetable and animal forms ; binary 
plants ; quinary relations ; relation of animals to plants ; law of op- 
position ; law of equipoise. § 74. Man, the first step of spiritual de- 
velopment; evil effects of studying nature fragmentarily. § 75. 
Nature, a living organism ; the sun ; technical terms not essential ; 
3 



xxiv ANALYTICAL INDEX. 

technical knowledge not essential ; mission of colleges ; God every- 
where; natural objects, a Jacob's ladder; number, as guide; cor- 
rectness of the boy's instinct ; honest seeking. § 76. Mathematics, 
the fixed point for nature-study ; mathematics, a Christian science ; 
mathematics, the expression of life, as such ; all forms proceed from 
the sphere ; number, form, extent ; mathematics and mind. 

C. Language. — § 77. Relation to religion and nature ; their unity. 
§ 78. Language defined. § 79. Language, a product of the human 
mind ; born in consciousness ; its mediatory character ; significance 
of word-elements ; roots not adventitious ; illustrations of the mean- 
ing of letters and sounds. § 80. Rhythmic law of language ; evil 
effects of its neglect ; elocutionary tricks. § 81. Historical develop- 
ment of writing; pictorial and symbolic writing; presupposes a 
rich life ; satisfies an inner want. § 82. Forms of letters not arbi- 
trary; O and S. ^ 83. Reading naturally follows; value of the 
alphabet ; the use of letters presupposes knowledge. 

I). Art and Objects of Art. — g 84. Art, the representation of 
inner life. ^ 85. Its relation to religion, nature, and language ; its 
materials ; art, a universal talent ; mediatory character of drawing 
and poetry ; Christian art. 

VI. Connection between School and Family, and the Sub- 
jects OF Instruction it implies. — A. General Considerations. — 
§ 86. Union of family and school ; mere extraneous knowledge per- 
nicious ; value of the family ; need of soul-training. § 87. Subjects 
of study enumerated ; domestic duties and industrial work. 

JB. Particular Considerations. — a. Cultivation of Religious 
Sense. — § 88. Religious instruction, based on sense of community ; 
spiritual union of father and son : religious intuition of boyhood ; 
need of religious experience ; errors of dogmatism ; contemplation 
of the tree ; renunciation ; pernicious effect of promising rewards ; 
consciousness of duty well done. § 89. Memorizing of religious 
maxims; prayer. 

b. Knoivledge and Cultivation of the Body. — § 90. Respect for the 
body; physiology, 

c. Nature and Surroundings. — § 91. To be studied in natural 
connection ; from the near to the remote ; method and course illus- 
trated ; necessary ramifications ; additional illustrations ; natural 
history ; physics ; sociology ; objections met. 

d. Memorizing Poems. — P 92. Memory-gems ; song ; illustration 
of singing-lessons. 



ANALYTICAL INDEX. XXV 

e. Language-Exercises, based on the Observation of Nature. — 
§ 93. Language-exercises and grammatical exercises compared ; illus- 
tration of language-exercises ; physics and chemistry ; mathematics ; 
additional illustrations. 

/. Outward Corporeal Representation. — § 94. Importance of outer 
representation; superiority of manual over verbal expression; our 
blindness due to false education ; service of God or man ; building ; 
tablets ; lines ; character of building-material ; modeling. 

g. Drawing in the Network. — g 95. Formation of network ; square 
and triangle ; avoid difficulty in work ; size of square ; essentials of 
the course ; details of the course ; invention ; needs of the school. 

?i. Study of Colors and Painting. — § 96. Color and light ; varie- 
gation; its significance to boyhood; color and form; essentials of 
color-study ; naming the colors ; painting natural objects ; illustra- 
tions of lessons. 

i. Plays. — § 97. Three kinds of plays ; they imply inner life and 
vigor. 

j. Stories and Tales. — § 98. Fondness of boys for stories ; legends 
and fairy-tales ; love of repetition ; praise of the genuine story-tell- 
er ; no need of practical applications and moralizing ; connection of 
stories with experience. 

^•. Excursions and Walks. — § 99. In search of oneness of nature 
and life ; mountains and valleys ; living things ; observation. 

I. Arithmetic. — § 100. Formation, reduction, and comparison of 
numbers ; course of instruction indicated. 

m. Form-Lessons. — § 101. Outlines of work. 

n. Grammatical Exercises. — § 102. They consider the word as 
material of representation ; words, syllables, sounds ; suggestions. 

0. Writing. — § 103. Suggestions of method. 

p. Reading. — § 104. Suggestions of method. 

VII. Conclusion. — § 105. All-sided development the aim ; objec- 
tions met ; creative freedom. 



THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 



GROUNDWORK OF THE WHOLE. 

§ 1. In all things there lives and reigns an eternal 
law. To him whose mind, through disposition and 
faith, is filled, penetrated, and quickened with the ne- 
cessity that this can not possibly be otherwise, as well as 
to him whose clear, calm mental vision beholds the 
inner in the outer and through the outer, and sees the 
outer proceeding with logical necessity from the essence 
of the inner, this law has been and is enounced with 
equal clearness and distinctness in nature (the external), 
in the spirit (the internal), and in life which unites the 
two. This all-controlling law is necessarily based on 
an all-pervading, energetic, living, self-conscious, and 
hence eternal Unity. This fact, as well as the Unity 
itself, is again vividly recognized, either through faith 
or through insight, with equal clearness and comprehen- 
siveness ; therefore, a quietly observant human mind, a 
thoughtful, clear human intellect, has never failed, and 
will never fail, to recognize this Unity. 

This Unity is God. All things have come from the 
Divine Unity, from God, and have their origin in the 



2 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Divine Unity, in God alone. God is the sole source of 
all things. In all things there lives and reigns the 
Divine Unity, God. All things live and have their 
being in and through the Divine Unity, in and through 
God. All things are only through the divine effluence 
that lives in them. The divine effluence that lives in 
each thing is the essence of each thing. 

§ 2. It is the destiny and life-work of all things to 
unfold their essence, hence their divine being, and, 
therefore, the Divine Unity itself — to reveal God in 
their external and transient being. It is the special des- 
tiny and life-work of man, as an intelligent and rational 
being, to become fully, vividly, and clearly conscious of 
his essence, of the divine effluence in him, and, there- 
fore, of God ; to become fully, vividly, and clearly con- 
scious of his destiny and life-work ; and to accomplish 
this, to render it (his essence) active, to reveal it in his 
own life with self-determination and freedom. 

Education consists in leading man, as d ihinTcing, 
intelligent heing, growing into self-consciousness, to a 
pure and unsullied, conscious and free representation 
of the inner law of Divine Unity, and in teaching him 
ways and means thereto. 

[In his educational work this principle of life-unity was ever 
uppermost in Proebel's mind. The full, clear, consistent translation 
of this principle into life, and into the work of education, constitutes 
the chief characteristic, as well as the chief merit, of his work. 
Viewed in its light, education becomes a process of unification ; 
therefore, Froebel frequently called his educational method " devel- 
oping, or human culture for all-sided unification of life." In his let- 
ter to the Duke of Meiningen he characterizes his tendency in these 
words : " I would educate human beings who with their feet stand 
rooted in God's earth, in nature, whose heads reach even into heaven 
and there behold truth, in whose hearts are united both earth and 



LIFE-UNITY. 3 

heaven, the varied life of earth and nature, and the glory and peace 
of heaven, God's earth and God's heaven." Still later he said, in the 
same vein : " There is no other power but that of the idea ; the iden- 
tity of the cosmic laws with the laws of our mind must be recognized, 
all things must be seen as the embodiments of one idea." With ref- 
erence to the individual human being, this unification of life means 
to Froebel harmony in feeling, thinking, willing, and doing ; with 
reference to humanity, it means subordination of self to the common 
welfare and to the progressive development of mankind ; with refer- 
ence to nature, it means a thoughtful subordination to her laws of 
development ; with reference to God, it means perfect faith as Froe- 
bel finds it realized in Christianity. 

It may not be amiss to point out at the very start the essential 
agreement between Froebel and Herbert Spencer in this fundamental 
principle of unification. Of course, it will be necessary in this com- 
parison to keep in mind that Froebel applies the principle to educa- 
tion in its practical bearings as an interpretation of thought in life, 
whereas Spencer applies it to philosophy, as the interpretation of life 
in thought. To Spencer " knowledge of the lowest kind is ununified 
knowledge; science is partially-unified knowledge; philosophy is 
completely-unified knowledge." In the concluding paragraphs of 
'• First Principles " he sets forth the " power of which no limit in 
time or space can be conceived" as the "inexpugnable consciousness 
in which religion and philosophy are at one with common sense," 
and as " likewise that on which all exact science is based." He desig- 
nates " unification " as the " characteristic of developing thought," 
just as Froebel finds in it the characteristic of developing life ; and 
Spencer's faith in the " eventual arrival at unity " in thought is as 
firm as Froebel's faith in the eventual arrival at unity in life. — 
IVanslatorJl 

§ 3. The knowledge of that eternal law, the insight 
into its origin, into its essence, into the totality, the con- 
nection, and intensity of its effects, the knowledge of 
life in its totality, constitute science, the science of life ', 
and, referred by the self-conscious, thinking, intelligent 
being to representation and practice through and in 
himself, this becomes science of education. 



4 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

The system of directions, derived from the knowl- 
edge and study of that law, to guide thinking, intelli- 
gent beings in the apprehension of their life-work and 
in the accomplishment of their destiny, is the ilieory of 
education. 

The self-active application of this knowledge in the 
direct development and cultivation of rational beings 
toward the attainment of their destiny, is the ^practice 
of education. 

The object of education is the realization of a faith- 
ful, pure, inviolate, and hence holy life. 

Knowledge and application, consciousness and reali- 
zation in life, united in the service of a faithful, pure, 
holy life, constitute the wisdom of life, pure wisdom. 

§ 4. To he wise is the highest aim of man, is the 
most exalted achievement of human self-determina- 
tion. 

To educate one's self and others, with consciousness, 
freedom, and self-determination, is a twofold achieve- 
ment of wisdom : it hegan with the iirst appearance of 
man upon the earth ; it was manifest with the first ap- 
pearance of full self-consciousness in man ; it begins 
now to proclaim itself as a necessary, universal require- 
ment of humanity, and to be heard and heeded as such. 
With this achievement man enters upon the path which 
alone leads to life ; which surely tends to the fulfillment 
of the inner, and thereby also to the fulfillment of the 
outer, requirement of humanity ; which, through a faith- 
ful, pure, holy life, attains beatitude. 

§ 5. ^^ education, then, the divine essence of man 
should be unfolded, brought out, lifted into conscious- 
ness, and man himself raised into free, conscious obedi- 



AIM OF EDUCATION. 5 

ence to tlie divine principle that lives in him, and to a 
free representation of this principle in his life. 

Education, in instruction, should lead man to see and 
know the divine, spiritual, and eternal principle which 
animates surrounding nature, constitutes the essence of 
nature, and is permanently manifested in nature ; and, 
in living reciprocity and united with training, it should 
express and demonstrate the fact that the same law rules 
both (the divine principle and nature), as it does nature 
and man. 

Education as a whole, by means of instruction and 
training, should bring to man's consciousness, and render 
efficient in his life, the fact that man and nature pro- 
ceed from God and are conditioned by him — that both 
have their being in God. 

EduGation should lead and guide mam, to clearness 

(concerning himself and in himself^ to jpeace with nor 
ture, and to unity with God j hence, it should lift him 
to a knowledge of himself and of mankind, to a knowl- 
edge of God and of nature, and to the pure and holy 
life to which such knowledge leads. 

§ 6. In all these requirements, however, education 
is based on considerations of the innermost. 

The inner essence of things is recognized by the in- 
nermost spirit (of man) in the outer and through out- 
ward manifestations. The inner being, the spirit, the 
divine essence of things and of man, is known by its 
outward manifestations. In accordance with this, all 
education, all instruction and training, all life as a free 
growth, start from the outer manifestations of man and 
things, and, proceeding from the outer, act upon the 
inner, and form its judgments concerning the inner. 



6 THE EDUCATION OF MAN, 

]S[evertheless, education sliould not draw its inferences 
concerning the inner from the outer directly, for it lies 
in the nature of things that always in some relation in- 
ferences should be drawn inversely. Thus, the diversity 
and multiplicity in nature do not warrant the inference 
of multiplicity in the ultimate cause — a multiplicity of 
gods — nor does the unity of God warrant the inference 
of finality in nature ; but, in both cases, the inference 
lies conversely from the diversity in nature to the oneness 
of its ultimate cause, and from the unity of God to an 
eternally progressing diversity in natural developments. 
The failure to apply this truth, or rather the contin- 
ual sinning agamst it, the drawing of direct inferences 
concerning the inner life of childhood and youth from 
certain external manifestations of life, is the chief cause 
of antagonism and contention, of the frequent mistakes 
in life and education. This furnishes constant occasion 
for innumerable false judgments concerning the motives 
of the young, for numberless failures in the education of 
children, for endless misunderstanding between parent 
and child, for so much needless complaint and unseemly 
arraignment of children, for so many unreasonable de- 
mands made upon them. Therefore, this truth, in its 
application to parents, educators, and teachers, is of 
such great importance that they should strive to render 
themselves familiar with its application in its smallest 
details. This would bring into the relations between 
parents and children, pupils and educators, teacher and 
taught, a clearness, a constancy, a serenity which are now 
sought in vain : for the child that seems good outwardly 
often is not good inwardly, i. e., does not desire the good 
spontaneously, or from love, respect, and appreciation ; 



PASSIVE EDUCATION. 7 

similarly, the outwardly rough, stubborn, self-willed 
child that seems outwardly not good, frequently is tilled 
with the liveliest, most eager, strongest desire for spon- 
taneous goodness in his actions ; and the apparently in- 
attentive boy frequently follows a certain fixed line of 
thouffht that withholds his attention from all external 
things. 

§ 7. Therefore, education in instruction and train- 
ing, originally and in its first principles, should neces- 
sarily be passive, following (only guarding and pro- 
tecting), not prescriptive, categorical, interfering. 

[This should in no way be interpreted as a pretest for letting 
the child alone, giving him up wholly to his own so-called self- 
direction, allowing him possibly to drift into vicious lawlessness in- 
stead of training him upward into free obedience to law. Froebel, 
indeed, sees in the child a fresh, tender bud of progressing hu- 
manity, and it is with reference to the divinity that to him lies in 
the child thus viewed that he calls for passive following and vigi- 
lant protection. He would have the educator study the child as a 
struggling expression of an inner divine law; and it is this he would 
have us obey and follow, guard and protect, in our educational 
work. It is evident that this involves constant activity in judicious 
adjustment of surroundings, so that the child may be free from 
temptation and from the growth of unhealthy whims and pernicious 
tendencies ; while, on the other hand, he may be supplied with ample 
incentives and opportunities to unfold aright. 

Spencer says, with the same thought : " A higher knowledge 
tends continually to limit our interference with the processes of 
life. As in medicine, etc., ... so in education, we are finding that 
success is to be achieved only by rendering our measures subservient 
to that spontaneous unfolding which all minds go through in their 
progress to maturity." — Tri\ 

§ 8. Indeed, in its very essence, education should 
have these characteristics ; for the undisturbed opera- 
tion of the Divine Unity is necessarily good — can not be 



8 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

otherwise than good. This necessity implies that the 
young human being — as it were, still in process of crea- 
tion — would seek, although still unconsciously, as a 
product of nature, yet decidedly and surely, that which 
is in itself best ; and, moreover, in a f onu wholly 
adapted to his condition, as well as to his disposition, 
his powers, and means. Thus the duckling hastens to 
the pond and into the water, while the young chicken 
scratches the ground, and the young swallow catches 
its food upon the wing and scarcely ever touches the 
ground. Now, whatever may be said against the pre- 
viously enoimced law of converse inference, and against 
this other law of close sequence, as well as against their 
application to and in education, they will be fully vin- 
dicated in their simplicity and truth among the genera- 
tions that trust in them fully and obey them. 

We grant space and time to young plants and ani- 
mals because we know that, in accordance with the 
laws that live in them, they will develop properly and 
grow well ; young animals and plants are given rest, 
and arbitrary interference with their growth is avoided, 
because it is known that the opposite practice would 
disturb their pure unfolding and sound development ; 
but the young human being is looked upon as a piece 
of wax, a lump of clay, which man can mold into 
what he pleases. O man, who roamest through garden 
and field, through meadow and grove, why dost thou 
close thy mind to the silent teaching of nature ? Be- 
hold even the weed, which, grown up amid hindrances 
and constraint, scarcely yields an indication of inner 
law; behold it in nature, in field or garden, and see 
how perfectly it conforms to law — what a pure inner 



ACTIVE EDUCATION. 9 

life it shows, harmonious in all parts and features : a 
beautiful sun, a radiant star, it has burst from the earth ! 
Thus, O parents, could your children, on whom you force 
in tender years fonns and aims against their nature, 
and who, therefore, walk with you in morbid and un- 
natural deformity — thus could your children, too, un- 
fold in beauty and develop in all-sided harmony ! 

In accordance with the laws of divine influence, 
and in view of the original soundness and wholeness of 
man, all arbitrary (active), prescriptive and categorical, 
interfering education in instruction and training must, 
of necessity, annihilate, hinder, and destroy. Thus — 
to take another lesson from nature — the grape-vine 
must, indeed, be trimmed ; but this trimming as such 
does not insure wine. On the other hand, the trim- 
ming, although done with the best intention, may wholly 
destroy the vine, or at least impair its fertility and pro- 
ductiveness, if the gardener fail in his work passively 
and attentively to follow the nature of the plant. In 
the treatment of the things of nature we very often 
take the right road, whereas in the treatment of man 
we go astray ; and yet the forces that act in both pro- 
ceed from the same source and obey the same law. 
Hence, from this point of view, too, it is so important 
that man should consider and observe nature. 

Nature, it is true, rarely shows us that unmarred 
original state, especially in man ; but it is for this reason 
only the more necessary to assume its existence in every 
human being, until the opposite has been clearly shown ; 
otherwise that unmarred original state, where it might 
exist contrary to our expectation, might be easily im- 
paired. If, however, there is unmistakable proof from 
4 



10 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

his entire inner and outer bearing that the original 
wholeness of the human being to be educated has been 
marred, then directly categorical, mandatory education 
in its full severity is demanded. 

On the other hand, however, it is not always possi- 
ble, and often difficult, to prove with certainty that the 
inner being is marred ; at least, this applies to the 
point, the source in which the marring originates and 
whence it derives its tendency. Again, the last essen- 
tially infallible criterion of this lies only in the human 
being himself. Hence, from this point of view, too, 
education in training and in all instruction should be 
by far more passive and following than categorical and 
prescriptive ; for, by the full application of the latter 
mode of education, we should wholly lose the pure, the 
sure and steady progressive development of mankind — 
i. e., the free and spontaneous representation of the 
divine in man, and through the life of man, which, as 
we have seen, is the ultimate aim and object of all edu- 
cation, as well as the ultimate destiny of man. 

Therefore, the purely categorical, mandatory, and 
prescriptive education of man is not in place before 
the advent of intelligent self-consciousness, of unity in 
life between God and man, of established harmony and 
community of life between father and son, disciple and 
master ; for then only can truth be deduced and known 
from insight into the essential being of the whole and 
into the nature of the individual. 

Before any disturbance and marring in the original 
wholeness of the pupil has been shown and fully de- 
termined in its origin and tendency, nothing, therefore, 
is left for us to do but to bring him into relations and 



SELF-ACTIVITY. H 

surroundings in all respects adapted to him, reflecting 
his conduct as in a mirror, easily and promptly reveal- 
ing to him its effects and consequences, readily disclosing 
to him and others his true condition, and affording a 
minimum of opportunities for injury from the out- 
breaks and consequences of his inner failings. 

§ 9. The prescriptive, interfering education, indeed, 
can be justified only on two grounds : either because it 
teaches the clear, living thought, self-evident truth, or 
because it holds up a Hfe whose ideal value has been 
established in experience. But, where self-evident, liv- 
ing, absolute truth rules, the eternal principle itself 
reigns, as it were, and will on this account maintain a 
passive, following character. For the living thought, the 
eternal divine principle as such demands and requires 
free self -activity and self-determination on the part of 
man, the being created for freedom in the image of God. 

[Self-activity, in Froebel's sense of the word, implies not merely 
that the learner shall do all himself, not merely that he will be bene- 
fitted only by what he himself does : it implies that at all times his 
tvhole self shall be active, that the activity should enlist his entire 
self in all the phases of being. The law of self-activity demands 
not activity alone, but all-sided activity of the whole being, the 
whole self. 

There is much difference between the self-activity of Pestalozzi 
and that of Froebel. The former has reference more to acquisitive 
or learning processes that fill the memory with little that bears di- 
rectly on mental expansion ; it is much concerned with long lists of 
names, verbal facts and formulas, recitation, and with imitation even 
in reading, writing, singing, and drawing. Froebel's self-activity ap- 
plies to the whole being ; it would have all that is in the child self- 
actively growing, simultaneously and continuously. He looks upon 
the child as an individuality distinctly separated from all other in- 
dividualities that make up the universe, but with an all-sided in- 
stinctive yearning for unification with these, with points eager for 



12 • THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

contact in all directions of being, and his self-activity applies to 
these outward tendencies, to doing in its widest sense, as much as it 
does to the inward tendencies, or to seeing in its widest sense. 

Froebel, consequently, lays more stress than Pestalozzi on spon- 
taneity of action, on the adaptation of all activities to the child's 
power, and on the full, whole-hearted, sympathetic, active co-opera- 
tion of the teacher, whom he urges " to live (to learn and do) with 
the children." 

Froebel's self-activity is necessarily coupled with joy on the 
part of the child. To him joy is the inward reaction of self-activity. 
Here, too, he is closely followed by Spencer, who asks that " through- 
out youth, as in early childhood and maturity, the process (of intel- 
lectual education) shall be one of self-instruction " ; and " that the 
mental action induced by this process shall be throughout intrin- 
sically grateful." 

It is a matter of great regret that Spencer, who seems to be quite 
familiar with Pestalozzi, was unacquainted with Froebel's work. 
What a weapon of strength Froebel's thoughts and suggestions 
would have proved in Spencer's hands ! — Tr.l 

§ 10. Again, a life whose ideal value has been per- 
fectly established in experience never aims to serve as 
model in its form, but only in its essence, in its spirit. 
It is the greatest mistake to suppose that spiritual, hu- 
man perfection can serve as a model in its form. This 
accounts for the common experience that the taking of 
such external manifestations of perfection as examples, 
instead of elevating mankind, cheeks, nay, represses, its 
development. 

§ 11. Jesus himself, therefore, in his life and in his 
teachings, constantly opposed the imitation of external 
perfection. Only spiritual, striving, living perfection 
is to be held fast as an ideal ; its external manifestation 
— on the other hand — its form should not be limited. 
The highest and most perfect life which we, as Chris- 
tians, behold in Jesus — the highest known to mankind — 



MANDATORY IDEAL. 13 

is a life whicli found the primordial and ultimate reason 
of its existence clearly and distinctly in its own being ; 
a life which, in accordance with the eternal law, came 
from the eternally creating All-Life, self-acting and self- 
poised. This highest eternally perfect life itself would 
have each human being again become a similar image 
of the eternal ideal, so that each again might become a 
similar ideal for himself and others ; it would have each 
human being develop from within, self-active and free, 
in accordance with the eternal law. This is, indeed, the 
problem and the aim of all education in instruction and 
training ; there can and should be no other. We see, 
then, that even the eteraal ideal is following, passive, in 
its requirements concerning the form of being. 

§ 12. Nevertheless, in its inner essence (and we see 
this in experience), the living thought, the eternal spirit- 
ual ideal, ought to be and is categorical and mandatory 
in its manifestations : and we see it, indeed, sternly 
mandatory, inexorable, and inflexible, but only when the 
requirement appears as a pronounced necessity in the 
essence of the whole, as well as in the nature of the in- 
dividual, and can be recognized as such in him to whom 
it is addressed ; only where the ideal speaks as the or- 
gan of necessity, and, therefore, always relatively. The 
ideal becomes mandatory only where it supposes that 
the person addressed enters into the reason of the re- 
quirement with serene, child-like faith, or with clear, 
manly insight. It is true, in word or example, the ideal 
is mandatory in all these cases, but always only with 
reference to the spirit and inner life, never with refer- 
ence to outer form. 

In good education, then, in genuine instruction, in 



14: THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

true training, necessity should call forth freedom ; law, 
self-determination ; external compulsion, inner free- 
will ; external hate, inner love. Where hatred brings 
forth hatred ; law, dishonesty and crime ; com])ulsion, 
slavery ; necessity, servitude ; where oppression de- 
stroys and debases ; where severity and harshness give 
rise to stubbornness and deceit — all education is abort- 
ive. In order to avoid the latter and to secure the for- 
mer, all prescription should be adapted to the pupil's 
nature and needs, and secure his co-operation. This is 
the case when all education in instruction and training, in 
spite of its necessarily categorical character, bears in aU 
details and ramifications the irrefutable and irresistible 
impress that the one who makes the demand is himself 
strictly and unavoidably subject to an eternally ruling 
law, to an unavoidable eternal necessity, and that, there- 
fore, all despotism is banished. 

§ 13. All true education in training and instruction 
should, therefore, at every moment, in every demand 
and regulation, be simultaneously double-sided — giving 
and taking, uniting and dividing, prescribing and fol- 
lowing, active and passive, positive yet giving scope, 
firm and yielding; and the pupil should be similarly 
conditioned: but between the two, between educator 
and pupil, between request and obedience, there should 
invisibly rule a third something, to which educator 
and pupil are equally subject. This third something 
is the right, the hest, necessarily conditioned and ex- 
pressed without arbitrariness in the circumstances. The 
calm recognition, the clear knowledge, and the serene, 
cheerful obedience to the rule of this third something 
is the particular feature that should be constantly and 



CONTROLLING LAW. 15 

clearly manifest in the bearing and conduct of the edu- 
cator and teacher, and often iirmly and sternly empha- 
sized by him. The child, the pupil, has a very keen 
feeling, a very clear apprehension, and rarely fails to 
distinguish, whether what the educator, the teacher, or 
the father says or requests is personal or arbitrary, or 
whether it is expressed by him as a general law and ne- 
cessity. 

§ 14. This obedience, this trustful yielding to an 
unchangeable third principle to which pupil and teacher 
are equally subject, should appear even in the smallest 
details of every demand of the educator and teacher. 
Hence, the general formula of instruction is : Do this 
and observe what follows in this ^particular case from 
thy action^ and to tchat knowledge it leads thee. Simi- 
larly, the precept for life in general and for every one 
is : Exhibit only thy spiritual essence, thy life, in the 
external, and by means of the external in thy actions, 
and observe the requirements of thy inner being and its 
nature. 

Jesus himseK charges man in and with this precept 
to acknowledge the divinity of his mission and of his 
inner life, as well as the truth of his teaching ; and this 
is, therefore, the precept that opens the way to the 
knowledge of all life in its origin and natm^e, as well as 
of all truth (see § 23). 

This explains and justifies, too, the next require- 
ment, and indicates, at the same time, the manner of its 
fulfillment : Tlie educator, the teacher, should make the 
individual and partiGular general, the general par- 
tictdar and individual, and elucidate both in life / he 
should make the external internal, and the internal ex- 



16 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

ternal, and indicate the necessary unity of ioth j he 
should consider the finite in the light of the infinite^ 
and the infinite in the light of the finite^ and harmonize 
hoth in life / he should see and percei/ve the divine es- 
sence in whatener is human^ trace the nature of man to 
God, and seek to exhibit hoth within one another in life 
(see § 25). 

This appears from tlie nature of man the more 
clearly and definitely, the more distinctly and unmis- 
takably, the more man studies himself in himself, in the 
growing human being, and in the history of human de- 
velopment. 

§ 15. Now, the representation of the infinite in the 
finite, of the eternal in the temporal, of the celestial in 
the terrestrial, of the divine in and through man, in 
the life of man by the nursing of his originally divine 
nature, confronts us unmistakably on every side as the 
only object, the only aim of all education, in all instruc- 
tion and training. Therefore man should be viewed 
from this only true standpoint immediately with his ap- 
pearance on earth ; nay, as in the case of Mary, imme- 
diately with his annunciation, and he should be thus 
heeded and nursed while yet invisible, unborn. 

With reference to his eternal immortal soul, every 
human being should be viewed and treated as a mani- 
festation of the Divine Spirit in human form, as a 
pledge of the love, the nearness, the grace of God, as a 
gift of God. Indeed, the early Christians viewed their 
children in this light, as is shown by the names they 
gave them. 

Even as a child, every human being should be 
viewed and treated as a necessary essential member of 



MAN'S RELATIVITY. 17 

humanity ; and therefore, as guardians, parents are re- 
sponsible to God, to the child, and to humanity. 

Similarly, parents should view their child in his ne- 
cessary connection, in his obvious and hving relations 
to the present, past, and future development of human- 
ity, in order to bring the education of the child into 
harmony with the past, present, and future require- 
ments of the development of humanity and of the race 
(see § 24). For man^ as such, gifted with divine, earth- 
ly, and human attributes, should he viewed and treated 
as related to God, to nature, and to humanity; as com- 
lyrehending within himself unity (God), diversity (na- 
ture), and individuality (humanity), as well as also the 
present, past, and future (see §§ 18, 61). 

§ 16. Man, humanity in man, as an external mani- 
festation, should, therefore, be looked upon not as per- 
fectly developed, not as fixed and stationary, but as 
steadily and progressively growing, in a state of ever- 
living development, ever ascending from one stage of 
culture to another toward its aim which partakes of the 
infinite and eternah 

It is unspeakably pernicious to look upon the de- 
velopment of humanity as stationary and completed, 
and to see in its present phases simply repetitions and 
greater generalizations of itself. For the cliild, as well 
as every successive generation, becomes thereby exclu- 
sively imitative, an external dead copy — as it were, a 
cast of the preceding one — and not a living ideal for 
its stage of development which it had attained in human 
development considered as a whole, to serve future 
generations in all time to come. Indeed, each succes- 
sive generation and each successive individual human 



18 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

being, inasmucli as he would understand the past and 
present, must pass throngh all preceding phases of hu- 
man development and culture, and this should not be 
done in the way of dead imitation or mere copying, but 
in the way of living, spontaneous self -activity (see § 24). 
Every human being should represent these phases spon- 
taneously and freely as a type for himself and others. 
For in every human being, as a member of Imraanity 
and as a child of God, there lies and lives humanity as a 
whole ; but in each one it is realized and expressed in a 
wholly particular, peculiar, personal, unique manner; 
and it should be exhibited in each individual human 
being in this wholly peculiar, unique manner, so that 
the spirit of humanity and of God may be recognized 
ever more clearly and felt ever more vividly and dis- 
tinctly in its intinity, eternity, and as comprehending 
all existing diversity. 

Only this exhaustive, adequate, and comprehensive 
knowledge of man and of the nature of man, from 
which diligent search derives spontaneously, as it were, 
all other knowledge needful in the care and education 
of man — only this view of man, from the moment of 
his conception, can enable true, genuine education to 
thrive, blossom, bear fruit, and ripen. 

[Herbert Spencer, in his " Education," states this less bi'oadly 
in these words : " The education of the child must accord both in 
mode and arrangement ^yith the education of mankind as considered 
historically ; or, in other words, the genesis of knowledge m the in- 
dividual must follow the same course as the genesis of knowledge in 
the race." He attributes the enunciation of this doctrine to M. 
Comte. Inasmuch as M. Comtc published the first volume of his 
" Positive Philosophy " in 1830, and Froebcl issued his " Education 
of Man " in 1826, the question of priority is easily settled. How- 
ever, the thought was in the atmosphere of that period. It would 



MAN'S DESTINY. 19 

be easy to show traces of it in Pestalozzi, in Richter and Goethe, in 
Kant and Hegel, and certainly in Herbart ; Froebel himself clearly 
foreshadows it in writings from the years 1831 and 1822. (See, also, 
note, § 24:.)— Tr.] 

§ 17. From tliis all tliat parents should do before 
a:id after the annunciation follows readily, clearlj, and 
unmistakably — to be pure and t|^ in word and deed, 
to be filled and penetrated with the worth and dignity 
of man, to look upon themselves as the keepers and 
guardians of a gift of God, to inform themselves con- 
cerning the mission and destiny of man as well as con- 
cerning the ways and means for their fulfillment. Now, 
the destiny of the child as such is to harmonize in his 
development and culture the nature of his parents, the 
fatherly and motherly character, their intellectual and 
emotional drift, which, indeed, may lie as yet dormant 
in both of them, as mere tendencies and energies. 
Thus, too, the destiny of man as a child of God and of 
nature is to represent in harmony and unison the 
spirit of God and of nature, the natural and the divine, 
the terrestrial 'and the celestial, the finite and the in- 
finite. Again, the destiny of the child as a member of 
the family is to unfold and represent the nature of the 
family, its spiritual tendencies and forces, in their har- 
mony, all-sidedness, and purity ; and, similarly, it is the 
destiny and mission of man as a member of hum,anity 
to unfold and represent the nature, the tendencies and 
forces, of humanity as a whole. 

§ 18. !Now, although the nature of the parents and 
of the family as a whole may still lie concealed in 
them, unrecognized even in its dimmest foreshado wings, 
it will be developed and represented most purely and 



20 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

perfectly by the cliildreii, if eacli unfolds and repre- 
sents his own being, as perfectly, purely, and univer- 
sally as possible ; and, on the other hand, as much as 
possible in accordance with liis own individuahty and 
personality. Thus, too, the spirit of God and of hu- 
manity — although as yet concealed and unrecognized — 
is revealed most purely and perfectly by man as a child 
of God and of humanity as a whole, if he unfolds and 
represents his own being as much as possible in accord- 
ance with his individuality and personality. This is 
done if man develops and perfects himself in that man- 
ner and according to that law by which all things are 
developed and perfected, have been developed and per- 
fected, and which is supreme wherever Creator and 
creature, God and nature, are found ; if man in his life 
reveals his being in inner and outer unity ; in individ- 
vallty, pure and perfect, in all individual outward re- 
actions ; in diversity so far as all he does and all that 
proceeds from him has diverse relations. Only and 
alone in this threefold, yet in itself one and united, rep- 
resentation, is the inner being perfectly shown, mani- 
fested, and revealed. Wherever one phase of this three- 
fold representation is really lacking, or, indeed, only 
imperfectly known or understood, we find imperfect, 
incomplete representation — imperfect, hindering insight. 
Only in this way each thing is manifested and revealed 
in its unity, all-sidedly, and in accordance with its nature ; 
only' by the recognition and application of this triune 
representation of each thing whose nature is to be com- 
pletely manifested and revealed, can a true knowledge 
of each thing, a true understanding of its nature, be 
reached (see §§ 15, 61). 



OPERATION or FORCE. 21 

§ 19. Therefore the child should, from the very 
time of his birth, be viewed in accordance with his na- 
ture, treated correctly, and given the free, all-sided use 
of his powers. By no means should the use of certain 
powers and members be enhanced at the expense of 
others, and these hindered in their development ; the 
child should neither be partly chained, fettered, nor 
swathed ; nor, later on, spoiled by too much assistance. 
The child should learn early how to iind in himself the 
center and fulcrum of all his powers and members, to 
seek Jiis support in this, and, resting therein, to move 
freely and be active, to grasp and hold with his own 
hands, to stand and walk on his o\vn feet, to find and 
observe with his own eyes, to use his members symmet- 
rically and equally. At an early period the child should 
learn, apply, and practice the most ditHcult of all arts — 
to hold fast the center and fulcrum of his life in spite 
of all digressions, disturbances, and hindrances. 

§ 20. The child'' s first utterance is that of force. 
The operation of force, of the forceful, calls forth coun- 
ter-force ; hence the first crying of the child, his push- 
ing with his feet against whatever resists them, the 
holding fast of whatever touches his little hands. 

Soon after, and together with this, there is developed 
in the child sympathy. Hence his smile, his enjoy- 
ment, his delight, his vivacity in comfortable warmth, 
in clear light, in pure, fresh air. This is the beginning 
of self-consciousness in its very first germs. 

Thus the first utterances of the child — of human 

life — are rest and unrest, joy and sorrow, smiles and 

tears. 

Rest, joy, and smiles indicate whatever in the child's 
5 



22 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

feeling is adapted to the pure, undisturbed development 
of his nature, of his human nature, to the child's life, 
to human life in the child. To foster and guard these 
should be the first concern of all educating influences, 
of life-development, life-elevation, and life-representa- 
tion. 

Unrest, sorrow, tears, indicate in their first appear- 
ance whatever is opposed to the development of the 
child, of the human being. These, too, should be con- 
sidered in education ; it should strive and labor to find 
their cause or causes, and to remove them. 

In the very first — but generally only in the very 
first — manifestations of fretting, restlessness, and cry- 
ing, the child is unquestionably wholly free from stub- 
bornness and willfulness ; but, as soon as the little one 
feels — we know not how and in what degree — that he 
is left arbitrarily or from negligence or indolence to 
whatever may give him discomfort or pain, these faults 
begin to germinate. 

Whenever this unfortunate feeling has been, as it 
were, inoculated, willfulness, the first and most hideous 
of all faults, has been begotten — nay, is born — a fault 
that threatens to destroy the child and his surroundings, 
and which can scarcely be banished without injury to 
some trait of his better nature ; a fault that soon becomes 
the mother of deceit, of falsehood, defiance, obstinacy, 
and a host of subsequent sad and hideous faults. 

However, in choosing the right way, too, we may err 
in the manner and form of proceeding. 

In accordance with the spirit and destiny of hu- 
manity, man should be trained to learn, by the endurance 
of small, insignificant suffering, how to bear heavy suf- 



EARLIEST INFANCY. 23 

fering and burdens that threaten destruction. If, then, 
parents or attendants are firmly and surely convinced 
that all the fretting, restless child may need at the time 
has been supplied — that all that is or can be injurious 
has been removed — they should calmly and quietly 
leave the fretting, restless, or crying child to himself ; 
calmly give him time to find himself. For, if the little 
one has once or repeatedly compelled sympathy and 
help from others in illusory suffering or slight discom- 
fort, parents and attendants have lost much, almost all, 
and can scarcely retrieve their loss by force ; for the 
little ones have so keen a sense, so correct a feeling for 
the weaknesses of attendants, that they would rather 
put forth their native energy in the easier way of con- 
trol of others — for which the weakness of attendants 
gives them the opportunity — than to exercise and culti- 
vate it in themselves, in patience, endurance, and ac- 
tivity. 

At this stage of development the young and grow- 
ing human being is called Sdugling (suckling), and this 
he is in the fullest sense of the word ; for sucking in 
(absorbing) is as yet the almost exclusive activity of the 
child. Does he not, indeed, suclc in (absorb) the con- 
dition of surrounding human beings 1 Therefore, the 
above-named manifestations — his smiles and frettings — 
remain as yet wholly within himself, are as yet the di- 
rect, undifferentiated concomitants of that activity. 

At this stage the human being absorbs and takes in 
only diversity from without; he s — augt ', his whole 
being is, as it were, only an appropriating Auge."^ For 

* This is a play upon the words saugen (to suck) and Auge (eye), by 
which Froebel desires to emphasize the statement that, at this stage, the 



24: THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

this reason even this first stage of development is of 
the utmost importance for the present and later life of 
the human being. It is highly important for man's 
present and later life that at this stage he absorb noth- 
ing morbid, low, mean ; nothing ambiguous, nothing 
bad. The looks, the countenances of attendants should, 
therefore, be pure ; indeed, every phase of the surround- 
ings should be firm and sure, arousing and stimulating 
confidence, pure and clear : pure air, clear light, a clean 
room, however needy it may be in other respects. For, 
alas! often the whole life of man is not sufficient to 
efface what he has absorbed in childhood, the impres- 
sions of early youth, simply because his whole being, 
like a large eye, as it were, was opened to them and 
wholly given up to them. Often the hardest struggles 
of man with himself^ and even the later most adverse 
and oppressive events in his life, haive their origin in 
this stage of development ; for this reason the care of 
the infant is so important. 

Positive testimony to this can be borne by mothers 
who have nursed some of their children themselves, 
have relegated the nursing of others to attendants, and 
have observed both in later life. Similarly, mothers 
also know that the first smile of the child marks a very 
definite epoch in the child's life and development; that 
it is the expression, at least, of the first physical finding- 
of-self {Sich-Selbst-findens), and may be much more. 
For that first smile originates not only in the physical 
feeling of his indi\aduality, but in a still higher physical 
feeling of community between mother and child ; then 

almost exclusive activity of the child is to take in hosts of impressions 
through the senses, of which the eye is the chief one. — Tr. 



ESSENCE OF RELIGION. 25 

with father and brothers and sisters ; and, later, between 
these and humanity on the one hajid and the child on 
the other. 

§ 21. This feeling of communitj, first uniting the 
child with mother, father, brothers, and sisters, and rest- 
ing on a higher spiritual unity, to which, later on, is 
added the unmistakable discovery that father, mother, 
brothers, sisters, human beings in general, feel and know 
themselves to be in community and unity with a higher 
principle — with humanity, with God — this feeling of 
community is the very first germ, the very first begin- 
ning of all true religious spirit, of all genuine yearning 
for unhindered unification with the Eternal, with God. 
Genuine and true, living religion, reliable in danger and 
struggles, in times of oppression and need, in joy and 
pleasure, must come to man in his infancy ; for the 
Divine Spirit that lives and is manifest in the finite, in 
man, has an early though dim feeling of its divine ori- 
gin ; and this vague sentiment, this exceedingly misty 
feeling, should be fostered, strengthened, nurtured, and, 
later on, raised into full consciousness, into clear appre- 
hension. 

It is, therefore, not only a touching sight for the 
quiet and unseen observer, but productive of eternal 
blessings for the child, when the mother lays the sleep- 
ing infant upon his couch with an intensely loving, soul- 
ful look to their heavenly Father, praying him for 
fatherly protection and loving care. 

It is not only touching and greatly pleasing, but 
highly important and full of blessings for the whole 
present and later life of the child, when the mother, 
with a look full of joy and gratitude toward the heav- 



26 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

enly Father, and thanking him for rest and new vigor, 
lifts from his couch the awakened child, radiant with 
joyous smiles ; nay, for the whole time of the related 
life between child and mother this exerts the happiest 
influence. Therefore, the true mother is loath to let 
another put the sleeping child to bed, or to take from it 
the awakened child. 

The child thus cared for by his mother is well-condi- 
tioned in a human, earthly, and heavenly point of view. 
Prayer gives peace ; * through God man rests in God, 
the beginning and end of all created things. 

If father and mother would give to their children, 
as the choicest portion for life, this never-failing hold, 
this ever-steady point of support, parent and child must 
ever be in intimate inner and outer unity, when in 
prayer — in the silent chamber or in open nature — they 
feel and acknowledge themselves to be in union with 
their God and Father. Let no one say, " The children 
will not understand it," for thereby he deprives them 
of their greatest good. If only they are not already 
degenerate, if only they are not already too much 
estranged from themselves and their parents, they un- 
derstand it, and will understand it : they understand it 
not through and in the thought, but through and in the 
heart. Religions spirit, a fervid life in God and with 
God, in all conditions and, circumstances of life and of 
the human mind, will hardly, in later years, rise to full 
vigorous life, if it has not grown up with man from his 
infancy. On the other hand, a religious spirit thus fos- 
tered and nursed (from early infancy) will rise supreme 

* Gehet bdtet — literally, prayer gives a bod — auotlicr ot'Froebel's plays 
on words. — Tr. 



CONTINUITY OF GROWTH. 27 

in all storms and dangers of life. This is tlie fruit of 
earlier and earliest religious example on the part of the 
parents, even when the child does not seem to notice it 
or to understand it. Indeed, this is the case with all 
living parental example (see § GO). 

§ 22. ]^ot only in regard to the cultivation of the 
divine and religious elements in man, but in his entire 
cultivation, it is highly important that his development 
should j)roceed continuously from one point, and that 
this continuous progress be seen and ever guarded. 
Sharp limits and delinite subdivisions within the con- 
tinuous series of the years of development, withdrawing 
from attention the permanent continuity, the living con- 
nection, the inner living essence, are therefore highly 
pernicious, and even destructive in their influence. 
Thus, it is highly pernicious to consider the stages of 
human development — infant, child, boy or girl, youth 
or maiden, man or woman, old man or matron — as really 
distinct, and not, as life shows them, as continuous in 
themselves, in unbroken transitions ; highly pernicious 
to consider the child or boy as something wholly differ- 
ent from the youth or man, and as something so distinct 
that the common foundation {Jiuman being) is seen but 
vaguely in the idea and word, and scarcely at all con- 
sidered in life and for life. And yet this is the actual 
condition of affairs ; f oi', if we consider common speech 
and life as it actually is, how wholly distinct do the 
child and the boy appear ! Especially do the later stages 
speak of the earlier ones as something quite foreign, 
wholly different from them ; the boy has ceased to see 
in himself the child, and fails to see in the child the 
boy ; the youth no longer sees in himself the boy and 



2S THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

the child, nor docs he sec in these the youth — with 
affected superiority lie scorns them ; and, most perni- 
cious of all, the adult man no longer finds in himself 
the infant, the child, the boy, the youth, the earlier 
stages of development, nor in these the coming adult 
man, but speaks of the child, the boy, and the youth as 
of wholly different beings, with wholly different natures 
and tendencies. 

These definite subdivisions and sharp limitations 
have their origin in the want of early and continuously 
growing attention to the development and self -observa- 
tion of his own life. It is possible only to indicate, but 
not to point out in their full extent, the unspeakable 
mischief, disturbance, and hindrance in the development 
and advancement of the human race, arising from these 
subdivisions and limitations. Suffice it to say that only 
rare inner force can break through the limits set up 
around the human being by those who influence him. 
Even this can be accomplished only by a violent effort 
that threatens to destroy, or, at least, to check and dis- 
turb, other phases of development. Therefore, there is 
throughout life somewhat of violence in the actions of 
a man who has done this at any stage of his develop- 
ment. 

How different could this be in every respect, if par- 
ents were to view and treat the child with reference 
to all stages of development and age, without breaks 
and omissions ; if, particularly, they were to consider 
the fact that the vigorous and complete development 
and cultivation of each successive stage depends on the 
vigorous, complete, and characteristic development of 
each and all preceding stages of life ! Parents are espe- 



CONTINUITY OF GROWTH. 29 

cially prone to overlook and disregard this. Wlicn the 
human being has reached the age of bojliood, they look 
upon him as a boy; when he has reached the age of 
youth or manhood, they take him to be a youth or a 
man. Yet the boy has not become a boy, nor has the 
youth become a youth, by reaching a certain age, but 
only by having lived through childhood, and, further 
on, through boyhood, true to the requirements of his 
mind, his feelings, and his body ; similarly, adult man 
has not become an adult man by reaching a certain age, 
but only by faithfully satisfying the requirements of his 
childhood, boyhood, and youth. Parents and fathers, 
in other respects quite sensible and eflicient, expect not 
only that the child should begin to show himself a boy 
or a youth, but, more particularly, that the boy, at least, 
should show himself a man, that in all his conduct he 
should be a man, thus jumping the stages of boyhood 
and youth. To see and respect in the child and boy 
the gcmi and promise of the coming youth and man is 
very different from considering and treating him as if 
he were already a man ; very different from asking the 
child or boy to show himself a youth or man ; to feel, 
to think, and to conduct himself as a youth or a man. 
Parents who ask this overlook and forget that they 
themselves became mature and efficient only in so far 
as they lived througb the various stages in natural suc- 
cession and in certain relationships which they ^vould 
have their child to forego (see § 28). 

This disregard of the value of earlier, and particu- 
larly of the earliest, stages of development with refer- 
ence to later ones, prepares for the future teacher and 
educator of the boy difficulties which it will be scarcely 



30 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

possible to overcome. In tlie first place, the boy so con- 
ditioned has also a notion that it is possible for him to 
do wholly without the instruction and training of the 
preceding stage of development; in the second place, 
he is much injured and weakened by having placed be- 
fore himself, at an early period, an extraneous aim for 
imitation and exertion, such as preparation for a certain 
calling or sphere of activity. The child, the hoy, man, 
indeed, slwuld know no other endeoumr hut to he at every 
stage of development wholly what this stage calls for. 
Then will each successive stage spring like a new shoot 
from a healthy bud ; and, at each successive stage, he 
will with the same endeavor again accomplish the re- 
quirements of this stage : for only the adequate develop- 
ment of man at each preceding stage can effect and 
bring about adequate development at each succeeding 
later stage. 

§ 23. It is especially needful to consider this in the 
development and cultivation of human activity for the 
pursuits of practical industry. 

At present the popular notions of work and the pur- 
suits of practical industry are wholly false, superficial, 
untenable, oppressive, debasing, devoid of all elements 
of life. 

God creates and works productively in uninter- 
rupted continuity. Each thought of God is a work, a 
deed, a product ; and each thought of God continues to 
work with creative power in endless productive activity 
to all eternity. Let him who has not seen this behold 
Jesus in his life and works ; let him behold genuine life 
and work in man ; let him, if he truly Uves, behold his 
own hfe and work. 



CKEATIVENESS. 31 

The Spirit of God hovered over chaos, and moved 
it ; and stones and plants, beasts and man took form 
and separate being and life. God created man in his 
own image I therefore, man should create an.d hririg 
forth like God. His spirit, the spirit of man, should 
hover over the shapeless, and move it that it may take 
shape and form, a distinct being and life of its own. 
This is the high meaning, the deep significance, the 
great purpose of work and industry, of productive and 
creative activity. We become truly godlike in dili- 
gence and industry, in working and doing, which are 
accompanied by the clear perception or even by the 
vaguest feeling that thereby we represent the inner in 
the outer; that we give body to spirit, and form to 
thought ; that we render visible the invisible ; that we 
impart an outward, finite, transient being to life in the 
spirit. Through this godlikeness we rise more and 
more to a true knowledge of God, to insight into his 
Spirit ; and thus, inwardly and outwardly, God comes 
ever nearer to us. Therefore, Jesus so truly says in 
this connection of the poor, " Theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven," if they could but see and know it and practice 
it in diligence and industry, in productiv^e and creative 
work. Of children, too, is the kingdom of heaven; 
for, unchecked by the presumption and conceit of adults, 
they yield themselves in childlike trust and cheerful- 
ness to their formative and creative instinct (see § 49). 

[How deeply Froebel valued the creative activity, and how con- 
stantly ho studied to keep it from degenerating into destructive- 
ness, appears from the account of " a visit to Froebel," by Bormann. 
He writes, in speaking of the building-games : " Two things seemed 
to me particularly interesting and significant. Froebel never per- 
mitted the children to destroy an old form built by them for the 



32 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

sake of building a new one with the same material, but insisted that 
the new formations should be made (l^y suitable changes) from the 
old ones. Thus he avoids haste, and awakens thoughtfulness and 
patience, and, on the other hand, inspires respect for existing things, 
and teaches at an early period not to build from the ruins of de- 
stroyed things, but to build up in an orderly manner from the 
things that are." — Tr.] 

The debasing illusion that man works, produces, 
creates only in order to preserve his body, in order to 
secure food, clotliing, and shelter, may have to be en- 
dured, but should not be diffused and propagated. Pri- 
.marily and in truth man works only that his spiritual, 
divine essence may assume outward form, and that 
thus he may be enabled to recognize his own spiritual, 
divine nature and the innermost being of God. What- 
ever food, clothing, and shelter he obtains thereby 
comes to him as an insignificant surplus. Therefore 
Jesus says, " Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven," i. e., 
the realization of the divine spirit in your life and 
through your life, and whatever else your finite life 
may require will be added unto you. 

Again, Jesus says, "My meat is to do the will of 
him who sent me," to work and accomplish whatever 
God has enjoined mo to do and as he has enjoined me 
to do. 

Thus the lilies of the field — which, in the ordinary 
human sense, do not toil — are clothed by God more 
splendidly than Solomon in all his glory. But does 
not the lily put forth leaves and blossoms ; docs it not 
in its whole outward being reveal the inner being of 
God? 

The fowls of the air, in a human sense, neither sow 
nor toil, but do they not in their song, in the building 



"THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN." 33 

of tlieir nests, in all their manifold and varied actions, 
reveal the spirit and life which God has put into them ? 
And God feeds and keeps them. 

Thus should man learn from the lilies of the field 
and from the fowls of the air to reveal in his outward 
work and deeds — however small and trifling, or great 
and weighty they may be at the time — the spirit that 
God has breathed into him, as place and time, po- 
sition or calling in life may require. Then his suste- 
nance will take care of itself. God will show him a 
hundred ways ; his intelligence will surely always indi- 
cate to him within himself or in his surroundings 07ie 
way or means — and what more does he need I — to sat- 
isfy his earthly necessities. And if all about him should 
fail him, he has left within himself — not only undimin- 
ished, but, indeed, developed in a higher degree — the 
divine power of allaying want by patient endurance. 

I^ow, all spiritual effects as finite manifestations sup- 
pose a succession of time and events. If, therefore, at 
any time in his life man has neglected to respect in the 
use of his powers their divine natm-e and to exalt them 
to work, or, at least, to develoj) them for work, he will 
necessarily and unavoidably be overtaken by want in 
proportion to his neglect. At least, he will not, at 
some time, reap what he could have reaped, had he, in 
the use of his powers, in his calling, always respected 
their divine nature ; for, in accordance with the earthly 
and universal laws under which we live, the results of 
that neglected activity would have appeared at some 
time. Now, if the activity was neglected, how can its 
results appear ? If, then, at any time such want over- 
take him, man has no other alternative than to let the 



34: TUE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

second side of liis spiritual power, renunciation and 
endurance, come into play in order to allay the want, 
and to labor most diligently in order to avoid all similar 
want for the future. 

The young, growing human being should, therefore, 
be trained early for outer work, for creative and pro- 
ductive activity. For this there exists a double reason, 
an inner and an outer requirement ; and the former, in- 
asmuch as it includes the latter, is of the greatest im- 
portance and eternal. The requirement is supported, 
too, by the nature of man as such (see § 87). 

The activity of the senses and limbs of the infant is 
the first germ, the first bodily activity, the bud, the 
first formative impulse; play, building, modeling are the 
first tender blossoms of youth (see § 30); and this is the 
period when man is to be prepared for future industry, 
diligence, and productive activity. Every child, boy, 
and youth, whatever his condition or position in life, 
should devote daily at least one or two hours to some 
serious activity in the production of some definite ex- 
ternal piece of work. Lessons through and by work, 
through and from life, are by far the most impressive 
and intelligible, and most continuously and intensely 
progressive both in themselves and in their effect on the 
learner. / JSTotwithstanding this, children — mankind, in- 
deed — are at present too much and too variously con- 
cerned with aimless and purposeless pursuits, and too 
little with work. Children and parents consider the 
activity of actual work so much to their disadvantage, 
and so unimportant for their future conditions in life, 
that educational institutions should make it one of their 
most constant endeavors to dispel this delusion. The 



RELIGION, INDUSTRY, TEMPERANCE. 35 

domestic and scholastic education of our time leads 
children to indolence and laziness ; a vast amoujit of 
human power thereby remains undeveloped and is lost. 
It would be a most wholesome arrangement in schools 
to establish actual working hours similar to the existing 
study hours ; and it will surely come to this. By the 
current practice of using his powers so sparingly and 
in reference only to outer requirements, man has lost 
their inner and outer measure, and, therefore, fails 
adequately to know, appreciate, respect, and faithfully 
guard them. 

As for religion, so, too, for industry^ early cultivation 
is highly important. Early work, guided in accordance 
with its inner meaning, confirms and elevates religion. 
/Religion without industry, without work, is liable to be 
lost in empty dreams, worthless visions, idle fancies. 
Similarly, work or industry without religion degrades 
man into a beast of burden, a machine. \ Work and re- 
ligion must be simultaneous ; for God, the Eternal, has 
been creating from all eternity. "Were this fully recog- 
nized, were men thoroughly impressed with this truth, 
were they to act and work in conformity to it in life, 
what a heiglit could mankind soon attain ! 

Yet human power should be developed, cultivated, 
and manifested, not only in inner repose, as religion and 
religious spirit ; not only in outward efficiency, as work 
and industry ; but also — withdrawing upon itself and its 
own resources — in abstinence, temperance, and frugality. 
Is it needful to do more than indicate this to a human 
being not wholly at variance with himself? Where 
religion^ industry^ and temperance^ the truly undivided 
trinity, rule in harmony, in true pristine unity, there. 



36 THE EDUCATION OF MAN, 

indeed, is heaven upon eartli— peace, joy, salvation, 
grace, blessedness. 

Thus is seen in the child man as a whole ; thus the 
unity of humanity and of man appears in childhood; 
thus the whole future activity of man has its germs in 
the child. And it can not be otherwise. If we would 
develop man and in him humanity as a whole, we must 
view him even in the child as a unit and in all his 
earthly relations, y Now, since unity in the finite mani- 
festations implies diversity,] and since all all-sidedness 
in the finite manif estation»umplies a succession in time, 
the world and life are unfolded for the child and in the 
child in diversity and succession. Similarly, powers 
and tendencies, the activities of the senses and limbs, 
should be developed in the order in which they appear 
in the child. 

[Froebel's demand for manual training in education has been 
adopted quite generally. However, the utterances of this need relate 
largely to industrial considerations. It is claimed that the chiefly 
literary character of school education does not meet the demands of 
the world's industrial interests ; that there is a dearth of talent and 
skill in industrial pursuits, and a consequent excess of applicants for 
the learned professions and for commercial and clerical work ; that 
labor is shunned as degrading, instead of being sought as ennobling ; 
and that consequently pauperism and crime, as the results of enforced 
idleness, are on the increase. 

There is much force in these claims, and, unquestionably, maii- 
luil training will do much to meet the evils they disclose. Yet the 
need of manual training as an educational factor lies deeper — in the 
demand for full, all-sided development in all relations of life. In 
this sense manual training is as much a need of the professional and 
literary man, of the merchant and clerk, of the capitalist and land- 
owner, as it is of the artist and artisan, of the laborer and farmer; 
as much a need of woman as it is of man : its need rests on the im- 
manent being of man more than on a transient industrial need. 



MANUAL TRAINING. S7 

It has long been conceded that experience, and, primarily, direct 
personal experience, furnishes the material for human insight and 
conduct. Until quite lately, however, the school has recognized this 
fact only in the in-leading processes of intellectual gi-owth, which 
are now largely based on direct personal contact with things and 
life. In the out-leading processes of intellectual growth, in the ex- 
pression of ideas, the school is still satisfied with words and ignores 
the value of things ; it recognizes, indeed, the debt of gratitude the 
intellect owes to the reflex influence which comes from efforts to 
formulate knowledge in words, but neglects the plastic expression of 
ideas by the hands which hold to their formulation in words the 
same relation that things hold to symbols in impression. 

Thus, in the study of the cube, the child will probably first see 
the cube, handle it, use it in his plays, and thus gain many notions 
concerning its shape. These may be expressed in words, and plas- 
tically in clay. Both modes of expression will react favorably upon 
the child's idea of the shape ; but the efforts at plastic representation 
will be found much more effectual in clearing the idea of inaccura- 
cies and imperfections. At every step the child has opportunities to 
compare the repi'esentation of his idea with the idea and with the 
original, to correct faults and to supply omissions. 

While, therefore, this manual training gives skill for industrial 
pursuits, and lifts work to a high place in the respect and gratitude 
of the child, it supplies impei'ative needs of permanent self-expansion 
as no other educational agency can do. Of course, this manual train- 
ing should adapt the material of work to the capacities and needs of 
the little workers, so that it may yield readily to their limited skill, 
adapt itself without worry to their aims, and thus secure for manual 
expression an automatism similar to that of speech. Again, the ex- 
ternal products of this manual training are more symbolical than 
practical — the real product lies in the child. In this it passes beyond 
mere industrial training, whose products are chiefly practical and 
external. Similarly, this manual training would lead beyond the 
mere artisanship of industrial training to true creative art. 

With proper guidance this systematic manual training becomes 
the most powerful agency in securing for the pupil the habit of suc- 
cess, a calm sense of power, a firm conviction of mastership, which 
are so essential to fullness of life, and almost indispensable to the 
success of the school. 

That Froebel, in his recommendations of the school workshop, 



38 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

was guided by these larger views, appears from his announeement of 
the Volkserziehungsanstalt at Helba, a project which he, unfortu- 
nately, never realized. This announcement was made in 1829, in the 
full flush of the hopes kindled in Froebel's breast by the recently 
won favor of the Duke of Meiningen. In the announcement he writes : 
" The institution will be fundamental, inasmuch as in training and 
instruction it will rest on the foundation from which proceed all 
genuine knowledge and all genuine practical attainments; it will 
rest on life itself and on creative effort, on the union and interde- 
pendence of doing and thinking, representation and knou'ledge, art 
and science. The institution will base its work on the pupil's per- 
sonal efforts in work and expression, making these, again, the foun- 
dation of aU'genuine knowledge and culture. Joined with thought- 
fulness, these efforts become a direct medium of culture ; joined with 
reasoning, they become a direct means of instruction, and thus make 
of work a true subject of instruction." 

Froebel proposed to devote the forenoon to instruction in the 
current subjects of school study, and the afternoon to work in the 
field, the garden, the forest, in and around the house. His list of 
occupations comprised the preparation of wood for the kitchen and 
the furnace ; the making of simple wooden kitchen utensils ; the 
weaving and binding of mats for the table and for the floor ; the 
binding of books and the ruling of slates and practice-paper ; the 
making of a variety of collections of objects of nature and art, and of 
suitable l)oxes for these objects ; the care of the garden, the orchard, 
the field ; the plaiting of straw mats for the hot-beds, and basket- 
making ; the care of pigeons, chickens, ducks, etc. ; the preparation 
of artistic and geometrical forms with paper in folding, cutting, and 
mounting, pricking, weaving, interlacing, etc. ; the use of paste- 
board in the making of stars, wheels, boxes, napkin-rings, card- 
baskets, lamp-shades, etc. ; play with splints, tablets, sticks and peas ; 
the whittling of boats, windmills, water-wheels, etc. ; the making of 
chains and baskets from flexible wire ; modeling with clay ; draw- 
ing and painting ; and many other things. 

Froebel's project failed ; yet much of the seed he had scattered 
broadcast had fallen on good soil. A stray grain had taken root in 
distant Finland, where, in 1866, C}'gnaeus, an ardent admirer of 
Froebel, introduced slojd (wood-work) as an obligatory branch of in- 
struction in the schools of his country. The success of Finland 
aroused Sweden, and brought support to Clausen-Kaas in Denmark. 



SCHOOL woRKsiiors. 39 

In 1875 this man was invited by admirers of Froebel to visit Dresden 
to bring to them a gospel wliich Germany is gradually recognizing 
as the neglected gift of one of her own sons. In the mean while the 
thought had found an earnest advocate in Dr. Schwab, at Vienna, 
through whose vigorous agitation Austria-Hungary is dotted all 
over with school gardens and school workshops ; and in 1882 France 
decreed that in her common schools " boys and girls shall devote two 
or three hours per week to instruction in manual work {travaux 
manuels)" 

In the further special directions for carrying out this law in the 
schools of France, the following points are of interest : Boys from 
seven to nine years old are to be instructed in manual exercises to 
develop manual dexterity, in cutting geometrical figures from paste- 
board, in basket-making, in modeling geometrical figures and simple 
objects ; boys from nine to eleven years old are to be taught the 
manufacture of pasteboard articles to be covered with glazed paper, 
in bending and plaiting iron wire, in the manufacture of objects 
from wire and wood (e. g., bird-cages), in the modeling of architect- 
ural ornaments, in the use of the commonest tools ; boys from eleven 
to thirteen years old have practice in drawing and modeling, in the 
use of tools for working in wood (planes, saws, simple joints, turn- 
ing-lathes), and in the use of the file and other tools for smoothing 
metal casts and working in iron. 

In all these cases the educational influence of work as a crea- 
tive and expressional activity constitutes the chief consideration. 
They look to the establishment of true school workshops, i. e., work- 
shops that serve the purposes of the school, which center in the ade- 
quate development of the physical and psychical powers of a com- 
plete human being, destined to the mastership of inner and outer life. 
They differ in this respect from manual training-schools, technical 
schools, industrial schools of all names, whose specific aim is prepa- 
ration for efficiency in engineering or industrial pursuits. Of 
course, in the latter, too, the work will not be without educational 
influence, but this is a secondary consideration of little moment 
compared with the specific objects of the schools in question. 
Schools of this chai'acter existed in all the countries named above 
long before the introduction of the school workshop as an adjunct 
of the common school. — Tr.'\ 



II. 



MAN IN THE PEEIOD OF EARLIEST CHILD- 
HOOD. 

§ 24. Although in itself at all times made up of the 
same objects and of the same organization, the external 
world comes to the child at first out of its void — as it 
were, in misty, formless indistinctness, in chaotic confu- 
sion — even the child and the outer world merge into 
each other. At an early period there come, too, on the 
part of the parents, corresponding words which at first 
separate the child from the outer world, but afterward 
reunite them. With the help of these words, these 
objects present themselves, at first singly and rarely, but 
later in various combinations and more frequently, in 
their self-contained fixed individuality. At last man — 
the child — beholds himself as a definite individual ob- 
ject, wholly distinct from all others. 

Thus, in the mind of man, in the history of his 
mental development, in the growth of his consciousness, 
in the experience of every child from the time of his 
appearance on earth to the time when he consciously 
beholds himself in the garden of Eden, in beautiful na- 
ture spread out before him, there is repeated the history 
of the creation and development of all things, as the 



MAN IN EARLIEST CniLDHOOD. 41 

holy books relate it. Similarly, in each child there is 
repeated at a later period the deed which marks the 
beginning of moral and human emancipation, of the 
dawn of reason — essentially the same deed that marked, 
and, inasmuch as the race was destined for freedom, 
must mark, the moral and human emancipation, the 
dawn of reason in tlie race as a whole. 

Every human being who is attentive to his own de- 
velopment may thus recognize and study in himself the 
history of the development of the race to the point it 
may have reached, or to any hxed point. For this pur- 
pose he should view his own life and that of others at 
all its stages as a continuous whole, developing in ac- 
cordance with divine laws. Only in this way can man 
reach an understanding of history, of the history of 
human development as well as of himself, the history 
and phenomena, the events of his own development, 
the history of his own heart, of his o^vn feelings and 
thoughts ; only in this way can he learn to understand 
others ; only in this way can parents hope to understand 
their child (see § 16). 

[Of course, this is to be taken in a general sense. Froebel's idea 
is not that each human being must imitate the various phases of 
human development from savagery to present civilization, and labori- 
ously wade through the grossness, ignorance, and wickedness of past 
generations to the refinement, culture, and good-will of our day. 
Froebel's thought is, rather, that the various instincts and tenden- 
cies of life are developed in each human being in the same general 
order in which we find them developed in humanity as a whole. 
This is amply illustrated in the pages of this work, and needs no ad- 
ditional elucidation. (See also note, § IG.) — Tr.] 

§ 25. To make the internal external, and the exter- 
nal internal, to find the unity for both, this is tlie gen- 



42 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

eral external form in which man's destiny is expressed 
(see § 14). Therefore, every external object comes to 
man with the invitation to determine its nature and re- 
lationships. For this he has his senses, the organs that 
enable him to meet that invitation. This is exhaustively 
indicated in the word S-i7in (sense), or «elf -active mter- 
nalization.* 

Every thing and every being, however, comes to be 
known only as it is connected with the opposite of its 
kind, and as its unity, its agreement with this opposite, 
its equation with reference to this is discovered ; and 
the completeness of this knowledge depends upon the 
completeness of this connection with the respective 
opposite, and upon the complete discovery of the con- 
necting thought or link. 

[The law of the connection of contrasts Froebel designates vari- 
ously as the law of development and as the law of unification. To 
Fichte and Hegel this is a law of mere thought ; to Froebel it is 
more a law of life. In a letter to Krause, written in 1828, he states 
this quite clearly in these words: "I see the simple course of devel--/- 
opment progressing from analysis to synthesis, which appears in 
pure thought, also in the development of every living thing." When, 
in 1850, Poesche and Benfey in his presence compared this law 
with Fichte's law of the idealistic constitution of things, and with 
Hegel's dialectic method, he said : " It is both of these, and yet has 
nothing in common with either of them ; it is the law which the 
contemplation of nature has taught me, and which I offer to chil- 
dren to guide them in their develoijment." The high place it occu- 
pied in his life he revealed to Diesterweg in 1849 : " The pantheistic 
view of life belongs to the past : we see no longer an inseparable 
One, but a Three. Trinity has become a corner-stone which people 
had rejected because they did not understand its meaning. To 
eyes that can see, the trinity of God is manifest in all his works. Do 

* A play on the word Sinn and Selbsthdtige iNN-erlichmachung (sense 
and self-active internalization). — Tr, 



LAW OF COXTRASTS. 



43 



we not everywhere see the Three in contrasts and their connection? 
And where do we find absolute contrasts, contrasts (opposites) that 
have not somewhere or somehow a connection ? In action and re- 
action the contrasts that we see everywhere give rise to the motions 
in the universe as they do in the smallest organism. This implies 
for all development a struggle, which, however, sooner or later will 
find its adjustment ; and this adjustment is the connection of con- 
trasts resulting in harmony among all the parts of the whole." A 
comparatively concise statement of the principal applications of this 
law in education will be found in the italicized words near the close 
of § 14. 

A favorite external illustration of this law Froebel finds in his 
Second Oift, consisting of the ball, cube, and cylinder. The ball 
and cube are clear contrasts ; they represent the one and the many 
(in the faces), rest and motion, straight and curved. They find their 
connection in the cylinder, which has one curved face on which it 
moves, and many (two) straight faces on which it rests. In his Ham- 
burg lectures of 1849 he furnishes the following systematic presenta- 
tion of all development, in which (— ) designates fixed or constant, 
and (+) fluid or variable elements, and (±) the connection of the 

two: 

Naturk. 



Matter. 
I 



Spirit.- 



I 

± 
Development. 

I 



Development of macrocosm. 



Development 

of the 

inorganic world. 



Absolute Ail' and 
earthy water 
matter (fluid), 
(solid). 



I 

± 
CJhemieal com- 
bination. 
(Life of the 
morganic world.) 



Development 

of the 
organic world. 



I 

De- 
veloped 
earthy 
matter. 



Light 
and 
heat. 



I 

rb 

Growth. 



Development of microcosm. 



Development 
of thebody. 



Development 
of the mind. 



I I 

— + 

Impres- Reaction 

sion of the 
(action) organ- 
from the ism. 
outer 
world. 

J !_ 

I 

± 
Central life — 
Self-mobility. 



Impression Reaction 

(action) of the 

of the mind 

organism (feeling — 

(experience know- 

— sensation). ing). 

! \_ 

I 

± 
Will— Action- 
Conduct. 



44 



THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 



Mind. 



Development 
of experieuee. 



Impression Fixing 
from of the 

without, impression. 

I L 

I 

± 
Percept. 



Development 
of knowledge. 



Per- 
cept. 



Abstrac- 
tion. 



Coucept-idea. 



Development 
of peace. 



Contem- 
plation. 



I 

Development 

of feeling. 

T I 



Belief. Peace. Joy. 



I 

± 
Faith. 



± 
Freedom. ^ 



In a highly instructive paper on this subject, Dr. Hohlfeld gives 
the following account of contrasts and their mediation or connec- 
tion : 

In their qualify, the terms of a contrast are either both affirma- 
tive {contrary), such as man and woman, science and art, God and 
world, or only one of the terms is affirmative, the other 'negative 
(contradictory), such as yes and no, ego and non-ego, good and not- 
good. The latter exist only in abstraction ; the contradictory con- 
trast simply comprehends in a convenient fashion the sum of all the 
contrary contrasts of a given idea. Thus the non-ego comprehends 
all existence with the exception of the ego. 

In their direction, the terms of a contrast are either right or 
oblique. Of these the former are either co-ordinate or sub-oi-dinate. 
Nature and mind, man *id woman, art and science are co-ordinate 
contrasts. In the contrast of God and world, whole and part, body 
and member, the second term is subordinate to the first. Man and 
animal, animal and plant, science and a particular art, are oblique 
contrasts. 

In their modality, contrasts are temporal, eternal, or combine 
the two. 

The " mediation," or connection, of contrasts is either direct or 
indirect (true " mediation "), and the former is either more external 
or more internal. Examples of more external direct contrasts we 
have in the combination of a horizontal and vertical line into a right 
angle or a right cross, and in the juxtaposition of blue and red. 
Examples of more internal contrasts we have in the slanting line 
which partakes of both the horizontal and vertical direction, in the 
mixture of blue and red into violet, in the combination of sulphur 
and mercury into cinnabar. These inner direct connections are ex- 
cellent "mediating" links between the simple terms of the con- 



ORDER OF SENSES. 45 

trasts. Thus, slanting mediates between horizontal and vertical, 
violet between blue and red, etc. — Tr.] 

§ 26. The objects of tlie external world present 
themselves to man in a more or less solid, liquid, or 
gaseous condition. Accordingly, man finds himseK en- 
dowed with senses that apprehend more or less fully 
the solid, liquid, or gaseous conditions. 

Again, every object comes to man in a state of pre- 
dominating rest or motion ; and, accordingly, eacli of 
these senses is again distributed between two distinct 
organs, of which one is fitted more to give a knowledge 
of objects at rest, and tbe other to give a knowledge 
of objects in motion. Thus the sense for the gaseous 
(aeriform) is distributed between the eye and the ear, 
the sense for the liquid between the organs of taste and 
smell, the sense for the solid between the organs of 
feeling and touch.* 

In accordance with the law of contrasts in the de- 
velopment of knowledge, tbe sense of hearing is the 
first to be developed in the child ; later on, there fol- 
lows, guided and incited by hearing, the sense of sight. 
The development of these two senses in the child, then, 
enables parents and attendants to establish a most inti- 
mate union between objects and their opposites, words 
and symbols, connecting them into one, as it were, 
thus leading the cbild to see and, later on, to know 
them. 

[Concerning the order of development of the senses, Froebel's 
position may require modification. Darwin's child " had his e.yes 
fixed on a candle as early as the ninth day, and up to the forty-fifth 

* The sense of feeling determines the temperature and mere contact 
presence, that of touch the hardness and smoothness of a body. — Tr. 
7 



46 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

day nothing else seemed thus to fix them"; "on the forty-ninth 
day his attention was attracted by a bright-colored tassel, as was 
shown by his eyes becoming fixed and the movements of his arms 
ceasing." It is true that " during the first fortnight he often started 
on hearing any sudden sound," and once, when he was sixty-six days 
old, he was frightened into nervous crying by his father's sneezing; 
but these were probably reflex movements, and had little to do with 
true hearing, for, even when one hundred and twenty-four days old, 
he found it difficult " to recognize whence a sound proceeded." All 
this would indicate that, in time of development, sight had the pre- 
cedence. Mr. Champneys reports that his child had his eyes fixed 
on a candle when a week old ; not until the fourteenth day did he 
turn to his mother when she spoke to him, and " even then did not 
start at sudden noises, however loud, unless accompanied by jerks 
or vibrations." M. Taine finds the first positive evidence of true 
hearing at two and a half months, when the child, "hearing her 
grandmother's voice, turns her head to the side from which it 
comes." It will be noticed that all these observers find the test for 
accomplished hearing in the turning of the head (or eyes) toward 
the point whence the sound proceeded. This seems to imply that 
the sense of sight is used as the criterion, and must, therefore, have 
been previously developed. 

Preyer found his child decidedly sensitive to light " long before 
the lapse of the first day " ; on the second day the eyes were rapidly 
closed on the approach of a candle ; on the ninth, the head is at the 
same time energetically averted ; on the tenth day the candle, held 
at the distance of one metre, is viewed without flinching ; on the 
eleventh, it is viewed with evidences of pleasure. Color seems to 
make an impression on the twenty-third day; and after the first 
month brilliant objects are the signal for exclamations of joy. Con- 
cerning the sense of hearing, Preyer mentions the difficulty of sepa- 
rating the convulsive movements of the eyelids, due to reflex action 
from other causes, from similar movements due to sound-impres- 
sions. Not until the first half of the fourth day can he convince 
himself that his boy has ceased to be deaf: at this time the clapping 
of hands close to the child causes him suddenly to open his half- 
closed eyes ; on the same day whistling near his ears stops his cry- 
ing ; on the eleventh and twelfth day the father's voice has a sooth- 
ing effect ; on the twenty-fifth day still less doubtful symptoms of 
sensitiveness to sound are noticed ; in the sixth week he shows for 



USE OF LIMBS. 47 

the first time appreciation of musical sound, being soothed by the 
mother's singing, which he receives with eyes wide open. 

Thus, along the entire line, sight seems to be in advance : the 
child is decidedly sensitive to light on the first day, but, to sound, 
not before the fourth day ; color impresses the child on the twenty- 
third day, and musical sound not before the thirty-sixth. Addi- 
tional proof might be furnished, but this must sufiice here. It 
seems to indicate clearly enough that Froebel's position concerning 
these two senses is untenable. 

Later on, however, Preyer shows that to neither of these two 
senses belongs the fii'st place in the order of development, but that 
this belongs to the sense of taste, which, even at birth, distinguishes 
sweet things from bitter, sour, and salt things. Similarly, certain 
parts of the body, such as the tongue and the lips, are sensitive to 
contact with external things at birth ; and many observations point 
to a similar, though less definite, sensitiveness to certain odors. This 
seems to be in full accord with the biological history of the senses, 
which shows that they are all differentiations from a general contact 
sense that pervades the entire mass of the lowest forms of individ- 
ualized protoplasm. 

When the senses, however, are once established, it seems natural 
that in their further development sight, hearing, and specialized 
touch should take the lead. More than the other senses — taste, 
smell, and the general contact sense — they enable the human being 
in his efforts to separate self from not-self for the sake of securing 
control of the latter. And in this further development, too, sight 
and touch, leading man further from self in insight, will excel hear- 
ing in relative importance and development. — 2V.] 

§ 27. Witli the advancing development of the 
senses, there is developed in the child, simultaneously 
and sjmmetricallj, the use of the body, of the limbs ; 
and this, too, in a succession determined by their nature 
and the properties of corporeal objects. 

External objects are themselves near, at rest, and 
invite rest ; or thej'' are in motion, moving away, 
and invite seizure, grasping, holding fast ; or they 
are fixed in distant places or spaces, and thus invite 



48 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

him who would bring them nearer to move toward 
them. 

Thus is developed the use of the limbs in sitting 
and lying, in grasping and holding, in walking and 
running. 

Standing represents the use of the body and limbs 
in their most complete totality ; it is the finding of the 
center of gravity of the body. 

This bodily standing is as significant for this stage 
as the first smile, the physical finding of self, was for 
the preceding stage, and as moral and religious equi- 
poise is for the highest stage of human development. 

At this stage of development the young, growing 
human being cares for the use of his body, his senses, 
his limbs, merely for the sake of their use and practice, 
but not for the sake of the results of this use. He is 
wholly indifferent to this ; or, rather, he has as yet no 
idea whatever of this. For this reason the child at this 
stage begins to play with his limbs — his hands, his 
fingers, his lips, his tongue, his feet, as well as with the 
expression of his eyes and face (see § 30). 

Now, as has been just indicated, these movements 
of the face and body are, at first, in no way representa- 
tions of the internal in the external ; indeed, this is re- 
served for the next stage of development. Yet these 
plays, as the first utterances of the child, should be care- 
fully observed and watched, lest the child contract 
habitual bodily and, particularly, /ac^a^ movements that 
have no inner meaning (e. g., distortions of the eyes and 
face), thus inducing at an early period a separation be- 
tween gestures and feelings, between body and mind, 
between the inner and the outer. This separation, in 



BEGINNING OF CniLDHOOD. 49 

its turn, might lead either to hypocrisy or to the forma- 
tion of habitual movements and manners which refuse 
obedience to the will and accompany man like a mask 
through all his life. 

From a very early period, therefore, children should 
never be left too long to themselves on beds or in 
cradles without some external object to occupy them. 
This precaution is needful, too, in order to avoid bodily 
enervation, which necessarily gives rise to mental enerva- 
tion and weakness. 

In order to avoid this enervation, the bed of children 
should from the beginning, from the very first moment, 
not be too soft. It should consist of pillows of hay, 
sea-grass, fine straw, chaff, or, possibly, horse-hair, but 
never of feathers. So, too, the child should be but 
lightly covered while asleep, securing for it the influ- 
ence of fresh air. 

In order to avoid leaving the child on its bed men- 
tally unoccupied while going to sleep, and, still more, 
just after waking, it is advisable to suspend in a line 
with the child's natural vision, a swinging cage with a 
lively bird.* This secm-es occupation for the senses and 
the mind, profitable in many directions. 

§ 28. As soon as the activity of the senses, of the 
body and the limbs is developed to such a degree that 
the child begins self -actively to represent the internal 
outwardly, the stage of infancy in human development 
ceases, and the stage of childhood begins. 

* The women of Appenzell, naturally great lovers of liberty, substi- 
tuted for this an artificial bird cut from bright-colored paper. Froebel 
himself, at a later period, proposed the substitution of the balls of the first 
gift.— TV. 



50 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Up to this stage the inner being of man is still un- 
organized, nn differentiated. 

With language, the expression and representation of 
the internal begin ; with language, organization, or a 
differentiation with reference to ends and means, sets in. 
The inner being is organized, differentiated, and strives 
to make itself known {Kund thun), to announce itself 
(ver^?//i.c?igen) externally. The human being strives by 
his own self-active power to represent his inner being 
outwardly, in permanent form and with solid material ; 
and this tendency is expressed fully in the word Kind 
(child), K-in-d^^ which designates this stage of develop- 
ment. 

At this stage of childhood — when there become 
manifest the tendency and endeavor to represent the 
inner in and through the outer, and to unite the two, to 
find the unity that connects them — the actual education 
of man begins, and attention and watchful care are di- 
rected less to the body and more to the mind. 

But man and his education are, at this stage, wholly 
intrusted to the mother, the father, the family, who, to- 
gether \\dth the child, constitute a complete, unbroken 
unity. For language — the medium of representation — 
audible speaking is at this stage in no way differentiated 
from the human being. He does not, as yet, know or 
view it as having a being of its own. Like his arm, his 
eye, his tongue, it is one with him, and he is uncon- 
scious of its existence. 

§ 29. However, it is impossible to establish among 
the various stages of human development and cultiva- 

* A play on the word Kind, probably referring,' back to the words 
KujfD thun and ve?'Kmm</en in the same paragraph. — Tr. 



IMPORTANCE OF CHILDHOOD. 51 

tion any definite order with reference to tlieir relative 
degrees of importance, except tlie necessary order of 
succession in their appearance in which the earher is 
always the more important. In its place and time each 
stage is equally important, l^evertheless, inasmuch as 
it contains the development of the first points of con- 
nection and union with surrounding persons and things, 
the first approaches toward their interpretation and un- 
derstanding, toward the comprehension of their inner 
being, this stage (of childhood) is of paramount im- 
portance (see § 22). 

This stage is, indeed, imjiortant, for it matters much 
to the developing human being whether the outer world 
seem to him noble or ignoble ; low, dead, as a thing 
made only for the enjoyment of others — to be used, 
consumed, destroyed, or as having a destiny of its own — 
high, living, spiritual, animated, and divine ; whether 
it seem to him pure or impure, ennobling and uplifting, 
or debasing and oppressive ; whether he see and know 
things in their true or in false distorted relations. 

Therefore, the child at this stage should see all 
thmgs rightly and accurately, and should designate them 
rightly and accurately, definitely and clearly ; and this 
applies to things and objects themselves, as well as to 
their nature and properties. 

He should properly designate the relations of ob- 
jects in space and time, as well as with one another ; 
give each its proper name or word, and utter each word 
in itself clearly and distinctly according to its constitu- 
ent vocal elements. 

[Mothers and other attendants of children not unfrequently re- 
tard this unification of language and thought by excessive indul- 



52 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

gence in so-called " baby-talk." The child struggles against many 
difficulties of speech — calls cows, tows; calves, talves; bread, bed; 
brown, bourn. Fond mothers and attendants find these imperfections 
of speech so very sweet that they imitate them, and are loath to have 
the children lose these charming defects. In the pernicious indul- 
gence of their selfish delight they even intensify the faults and in- 
vent new ones, which they force upon the child. Such inventions 
are hannies, for hands ; hootsy-tootsies, for feet ; pefs, mummas, dinks, 
and other unmeaning plural for corresponding singular forms. In 
all such cases it is the mother's clear duty to speak plainly and 
correctly, in order to aid her child in overcoming the troublesome 
difficulties of speech involved. She need not on this account address 
her child any less tenderly, fondly, and soothingly. 

There are, indeed, phases of " baby-talk " that are not open to 
these objections. These we find in thoughtful efforts to aid the 
child through judicious adaptation of our efforts to his difficulties. 
Thus, as soon as the child begins his meaningless monologues, 
practicing certain sounds, such as tattattatta . . ., appappappapp . . ., 
dadadada . . ., rrrrrr . . ., the attendants may sometimes carefully 
join in these exercises. This will probably teach the child to listen 
to others as well as to himself more attentively, and will hasten the 
time when he will find himself able to imitate sounds uttered by 
others. More or less onomatopoetic words may, for a time at least, 
be received into the legitimate vocabulary of the child. Such words 
are moo, for cow ; tin-tin, for bell ; tchoo-fchoo, for locomotive, etc. 
Yet even in these cases the ordinary name should soon be connected 
regularly with the onomatopoetic name, and at last the latter dropped 
entirely by the attendants. 

On the other hand, when the child, in his efforts to imitate the 
language of his surroundings, faUs, saying wah-wah, for water ; shoo- 
mum, for sugar; kean, for clean — the only way to help the child is 
always to speak the correct words clearly and distinctly. Here there 
should be no yielding, inasmuch as the peculiarities of the child's 
speech are due wholly to imperfections of hearing or speaking ; and, 
so far as the child's attendants are concerned, only persistent purity 
in their model speech can remove these imperfections. Of course, 
this does not imply that the attendants should use " big words " or 
complex forms of expression. On the contrary, the forms should 
be simple and closely adapted to the child's understanding. Thus 
the words, "Baby — drink?" "See — dog," "Milk — sweet," aecom- 



BABY-TALK. 53 

panied by some deliberate, suitable gesture and a sympathetic coun- 
tenance, will be solidly helpful to the child without loss of endear- 
ment and mutual joy. On the other hand, " Does mamma's little 
darling pet want a drink? Well, it shall have some. Mamma will 
give it just all it wants, and more, too," are largely unmeaning chat- 
ter to the child; only now and then he recognizes a word that 
arouses in him corresponding thought, as the sea-faring man now 
and then espies an island in an ocean of water. 

The observations of E. S. Holden and M. W. Humphreys, which 
are corroborated by the experience of all thoughtful mothers with 
whom I have conversed on the subject, indicate that children will 
learn most readily nouns, and then in their order verbs, adjectives, 
adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and prepositions. Professor Hol- 
den found that at the close of the second year two children had 
acquired the following vocabulaiy : 

Nouns. Verbs. Adjectives. Adverbs. Miscellaneous. Total. 
First Child: 285 107 34 29 28 483 

Second Child : 230 90 37 17 25 399 

He excluded from his lists some 500 words which the children could 
use only in connection with nursery-rhymes they had learned, and 
many names of pictures concerning which the children's under- 
standing was doubtful. Humphreys found that a two-year-old girl 
possessed a vocabulary of 593 nouns, 283 verb^, 114 adjectives, 56 
adverbs, 35 pronouns, 28 prepositions, 5 conjunctions, and 8 inter- 
jections. He, too, excluded the words which the child knew only 
in nursery-i'hymes, numerals, the^jjames of the week-days, and many 
proper names. 

The observations of these men, as well as those of many others, 
seem to indicate that a normal child, after the lapse of his second 
year, need no longer be in the trammels of the imperfections of pro- 
nunciation, of needless suffixes, and of affected reduplications that 
characterize ordinary so-called "baby-talk." — Tr.] 

JSTow, since this stage of human development re- 
quires that the child should leai"n to designate all things 
rightly, clearly, and distinctly, it is essentially needful 
that all things should be brought before him rightly, 
clearly, and distinctly, so that he may see and know 



54 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

them riglitly, clearly, and distinctly. These things are 
inseparable and reciprocally dependent (see § 33). 

However, inasmuch as at this stage language is still 
undifferentiated or one with the speaking human being, 
names are for the speaking child still one (united) with 
the things — i. e., he can not as yet separate the name 
and the thing, as he can not separate matter and spirit, 
soul and body. To him they are still one and the same. 
This is seen particularly in the play of children at this 
time ; how eagerly and (if he can do so) how much the 
child speaks during his play. 

Play and speech constitute the element in which the 
child lives. Therefore, the child at this stage imparts 
to each thing the faculties of life, feeling, and speech. 
Of ever}i;hing he imagines that it can hear. Because 
the child himself begins to represent his inner being 
outwardly, he imputes the same activity to all about 
him, to the pebble and chip of wood, to the plant, the 
flower, and the animal. 

And thus there is developed in the child at this 
stage his own life, his life with parents and family, his 
life with a higher invisible spirit, common to both, and 
particularly his life in and with nature, as if this held 
life like that which he feels within himself. Indeed, 
life in and with nature and with the fair, silent things 
of nature should be fostered at this time by parents and 
other members of the family as a chief fulcrum of child- 
life ; and this is accomplished chiefly in play, in the cul- 
tivation of the cliild's play, which at tirst is simply 
natural life. 

§ 30. Play. — Play is the highest phase of child- 
development — of human development at this period; 



PLAYS OF CHILDHOOD. 55 

for it is self-active representation of the inner — repre- 
sentation of the inner from inner necessity and im- 
pulse (see § 27). 

Play is the purest, most spiritual activity of man at 
this stagey and, at the same time, typical of human life 
as a whole — of the inner hidden natural life in man and 
all things. It giv^es, therefore, joy, freedom, content- 
ment, inner and outer rest, peace with the world. It 
holds the sources of all that is good. A child that 
plays thoroughly, with self-active determination, perse- 
veringly until physical fatigue forbids, will sm:*ely be a 
thorough, determined man, capable of self-sacrifice for 
the promotion of the welfare of himself and others. Is 
not the most beautiful expression of child-life at this 
time a playing child ? — a child wholly absorbed in his 
play ? — a child that has fallen asleep while so absorbed ? 

As already indicated, play at this time is not trivial, 
it is highly serious and of deep significance. Cultivate 
and foster it, O mother ; protect and guard it, O father ! 
To the calm, keen vision of one who truly knows human 
nature, the spontaneous play of the child discloses the 
future inner life of the man. 

The plays of childhood are the germinal leaves of 
all later life ; for the whole man is developed and shown 
in these, in his tenderest dispositions, in his innermost 
tendencies. The whole later life of man, even to the 
moment when he shall leave it again, has its source in 
the period of childhood — be this later life pure or im- 
pure, gentle or violent, quiet or imiralsive, industrious 
or indolent, rich or poor in deeds, passed in dull stupor 
or in keen creativeness, in stupid wonder or intelligent 
insight, producing or destroying, the bringer of har- 



56 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

monj or discord, of war or peace. His future relations 
to father and mother, to the members of the family, to 
society and mankind, to nature and God — in accordance 
with the natural and individual disposition and tenden- 
cies of the child — depend chieflj upon his mode of life 
at this period ; for the child's life in and with himself, 
his family, nature, and God, is as yet a unit. Thus, at 
this age, the child can scarcely tell whicli is to him 
dearer — the flowers, or his joy about them, or the joy 
he gives to the mother when he brings or shows them 
to her, or the vague presentiment of the dear Giver of 
them. 

Who can analyze these joys in which this period is 
so rich ? 

If the child is injured at this period, if the germinal 
leaves of the future tree of his life are marred at this 
time, he will only with the greatest difficulty and the 
utmost effort grow into strong manhood ; he will only 
with the greatest difficulty escape in his further devel- 
opment the stunting effects of the injury or the one- 
sidedness it entails. 

[Much has been said concerning the value and importance of 
play by educators at all times, Plato thinks that " the plays of 
children have the mightiest influence on the maintenance or non- 
maintenance of laws " ; that during the first three years the " soul of 
the nursling" should be made "cheerful and kind" by keeping 
away from him " sorrow and fears and pain," and by soothing him 
with song, the sound of the pipe, and rhj-thmic movement ; that at 
the next period of life, when the children "almost invent" their 
games, they ought to come together at the temples and play under 
the supervision of nurses, who are to " take cognizance of their be- 
havior." He foreshadows Froebel even in the demand for the regu- 
lation of play by music. " From the first years," he says, " the plays 
of children ought to be subject to laws ; for, if these plays and those 



PLAYS OF CniLDHOOD. 57 

who take part in them are arbitrary and lawless, how can children 
ever become virtuous men, abiding by and obedient to law ? If, on 
the contrary, children are trained to submit to laws in their plays, 
the love for law enters their souls with the music accompanying the 
games, never leaves them, and helps in their development." Aris- 
totle, too, believes that children (until they are five years old) " should 
be taught nothing, not even necessary labor, lest it hinder growth ; 
but should be accustomed to use so much motion as to avoid an in- 
dolent habit of body; and this can be acquired by various means, 
among others by play, which ought to be neither illiberal nor too 
laborious nor lazy." Elsewhere he insists on the need of " enter- 
taining employment " for children, and praises the " rattle of Archy- 
tas " as a useful contrivance, " keeping children from breaking 
things about the house." Even Quintilian, while he covets instruc- 
tion at an early period, and, inasmuch as " they must do some- 
thing," would have them learn to read "after they are able to 
speak," yet would labor to render the instruction " an amusement to 
the child," and does not object to the use of " ivory figures of letters 
to play with." He looks upon playing as " in itself a mark of ac- 
tivity of mind," and thinks that " children who play in a slow and 
spiritless manner will not show any remarkable aptitude for any 
branch of science." 

Luther severely censures those who " despise the plays of chil- 
dren," and informs us that " Solomon, who was a judicious school- 
master, did not prohibit scholars from play at the proper time, as 
the monks do their pupils, who thus become mere logs and sticks." 
..." A young man shut up in this way, and kept apart from men," 
he says, " is like a young tree which ought to bear fruit, but is planted 
in a pot." Kabelais has his Pantagruel redeemed from the stultify- 
ing effects of over-training by placing him in the hands of a wise 
tutor, who knew how to make his studies amusing, interesting, and 
profitable, by making them " active " and connecting them with life. 
Fenelon believes in the efficacy of play. Locke thinks that " all their 
innocent folly, playing, and child-like actions are to be left perfectly 
free and unrestrained " ; that " to restrain the natural gayety of that 
age serves only to spoil the temper both of body and mind " ; that 
"this gamesome humor which is wisely adapted by Nature to their 
age and temper should be encouraged to keep up their spirits and 
improve their health and strength " ; and that " the chief art is to 
make all that they haYe to do sport and play." Further on he finds 
8 



58 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

that " free liberty permitted them in their recreation will discover 
their natural tempers, show their inclinations and aptitudes." 

In his " Letters on ^stlietic Education," Schiller says : " The 
plays of children often have very deep meaning, for, to speak plainly 
and concisely, man plays only where he is a human being in the 
fullest sense of the word, and he has reached full humanity only 
where he plays. This proposition, which at present may appear 
paradoxical, will acquire great and deep significance when we shall 
learn to refer it to the doubly serious ideas of duty and destiny ; it 
will then, I am sure, sustain the entire superstructure of aesthetic art 
and of the yet more difficult art of life." With still keener insight 
into child-nature, Richter says in his incomparable " Levana " : " Ac- 
tivity alone can bring and hold serenity and happiness. Unlike our 
games, the plays of children are the expressions of serious activity, 
although in light, airy dress. . . . Play is the first poetical (creative) 
utterance of man." 

To Froebel, however, belongs the credit of having found the 
true nature and function of play, and of regulating it in such a way 
as to lead it gradually and naturally into work, securing for work 
the same spontaneity and joy, the same freedom and serenity, that 
characterize the plays of childhood, realizing in all directions of hu- 
man activity what Prof. Pillans (quoted by Herbert Spencer) asserts 
concerning school-work, that "where young people are taught as 
they ought to be, they are quite as happy in school as at play, seldom 
less delighted, nay, often more, with the well-directed exercise of 
their mental energies than with that of their muscular powers." In 
his gifts and occupations he found for the two contrasts of play and 
work the living connection, making them both utterances of the 
same one creative activity. In play, it is the exercise of this activity 
that forms the purpose of the exertion and rewards it with joy un- 
speakable ; in work, the external product, the outcome of the activity, 
becomes the purpose and additional reward of the exertion. Froe- 
bel has shown how both may be combined, how the human being — 
the child, the boy or girl, the youth or maiden, man or woman — may 
learn to secure both enjoyments through the same effort, delighting 
in the activity which leads to a coveted result, however distant and 
difficult of attainment. 

Preyer, in his work on " The Soul of the Child," after speaking 
of the pleasurable sensations aroused in his boy on being carried out 
into the open air, etc., says : " A new kind of pleasurable sensations, 



PLATS OF INFANCY. 59 

■with some admixture of intellectual elements, is noticed when the 
child begins to effect some change of form by his own activity, 
gradually gaining some knowledge of liis own power. Not only the 
effects of the voice, especially crying and the first consciously made 
sounds, are concerned in this, but a number of ' plays.' At first it 
was, in the fifth month, the crumpling of a sheet of paper, which 
the boy repeated with evident pleasure. From this time on to 
his third year he found great pleasure in the tearing and rolling 
up of newspapers. With similar pleasure he engaged in pulling 
a glove from side to side (until his fourth year), in pulling the hairs 
of ray beard, in ringing a small bell for an insufl:erably long time. 
Later he found enjoyment in the movement of his own body, in 
marching and in purely intellectual plays, packing and unpacking 
of things, cutting with scissors, turning the leaves of a book, looking 
at pictures. At last there came imagination, which animates clumsy 
pieces of wood, changes the leaves of trees into delicious articles of 
food, etc. 

" On the whole, however, during the first period of their life, 
children owe many more pleasurable feelings to the removal of con- 
ditions of discomfort than to the creation of conditions of positive 
pleasure. The removal of hunger, thirst, wet, cold, tight clothing, 
gives rise to pleasurable sensations that are stronger than those 
generated by soft light, moving tassels, tepid baths, singing, and the 
kindliness of parents, or as strong as these. Not before the fourth 
month new pleasurable sensations are added by the first successful 
attempts to take hold." 

He is inclined to look upon the cries, the laughter, and the 
various movements attending these pleasurable sensations as in- 
stinctive or reflex in their character for quite a long time. Even 
the stamping with the foot in the eleventh month, the stiffening 
of the body as a measure of resistance in the tenth month, he does 
not consider intentional. About this time, however, a number of 
plays and experiments seem to mdicate the awakening of will. 
" Thus, in the eleventh month," he writes, " my child would fre- 
quently beat with a spoon against a paper or some other object held 
in the other hand, then suddenly exchange the two objects, and 
move the spoon with the other hand, as if he desired to determine 
whence the noise proceeded." 

At a still later period, between the fifteenth and twentieth 
months, the pleasure of the child's plays seems to be due to the " re- 



60 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

production of familiar thouglit-images attended Avith pleasurable 
feelings wliicli have been crystallized out, as it were, into relative 
clearness from the great mass of vague perceptions. Most of the 
plays which the children invent themselves may be reduced to this, 
even the game of hide-and-seek (in the seventeenth and eighteenth 
months), and, related to this, the game of ' hunting for ' scraps of 
paper, pieces of biscuits, buttons, and other favorite things (in the 
fifteenth month)." 

Much that goes by the name of play, Preyer considers as true 
experimenting, more particularly with reference to the study of 
changes produced by the child's own activity. In this connection 
he mentions the tearing of paper into small bits, continued with re- 
markable patience even between the forty-fifth and iifty-fit'th weeks. 
For this he finds the explanation in the '■gratilication on the part 
of the child to find himself the cause of so I'cmarkable a change." 
The same he holds to be true with reference to "the shaking of 
a bunch of keys ; the opening and closing of a box or purse (thir- 
teenth month) ; the pulling out, emptying, refilling, and replacing 
of a table-drawer ; the piling up and scattering of gravel; turning 
the leaves of a book (thirteenth to nineteenth month) ; burrowing 
and working in sand ; the arranging of shells, pebbles, buttons 
(twenty-first month) ; the filling and emptying of bottles, cups, 
watering-pots (thirty-first to thirty-third m(mth) ; the throwing of 
stones into the water. The zeal with which these seemingly aimless 
movements are executed is remarkable. The sense of gratification 
must be very great, and is probably due to the feeling of his own 
power, and of being the cause of the various changes." — 2V.] 

§ 31. In tliese years of cliildliood the child's food is 
a matter of very gi*eat importance, not only at the time 
— for the child may by its food be made indolent or 
active, sluggish or mobile, dull or bright, inert or vigor- 
ous — but, indeed, for his entire future life. For im- 
pressions, inchnations, appetites which the child may 
have derived from his food, the turn it may have given 
to his senses, and even to his life, as a whole, can only 
with difficulty be set aside even when the age of self- 
dependence has been reached. They arc one with his 



FOOD OF CHILDHOOD. Ql 

whole physical life, and therefore intimately connected 
with his spiritual life ; at any rate, mth his sensations 
and feelings. 

Therefore, after the mother's milk, the first food of 
the child should be plain and simple, not more artificial 
and refined than is absolutely needful, in no way stim- 
ulating and exciting through an excess of spices, nor 
rich, lest it hinder the inner organs in their activity. 

Parents and nurses should ever remember, as under- 
lying every precept in this direction, the following 
general principle : that simplicity and frugality in food 
and in other physical needs during the years of child- 
hood enhance man's power of attaining happiness and 
vigor — true creativeness in every respect. 

Who has not noticed in children, over-stimulated by 
spices and excess in food, appetites of a very low order, 
from whicb they can never again be freed — appetites 
which, even when they seem to have been suppressed, 
only slumber, and in times of opportunity return with 
greater power, tbreatening to rob man of all his dignity, 
and to force him away from his duty ? 

If parents would consider that not only much indi- 
vidual and personal happiness, but even mucb domestic 
happiness and general prosperity, depend on this, how 
very difl'erently they would act ! 

But here the foolish mother, there the childish fa- 
ther, is to blame. "We see them give their cbildren 
all kinds of poison, and in every form, coarse and fine. 
Here it comes in the oppressing quantity which does 
not allow the body to digest it, which is often given 
only to drive away the ennui that torments the unoc- 
cupied child ; again, it comes in over-refinement in 



62 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

tlie preparation of food, bj which the physical side 
of the child's life is stimulated without tnie spiritual 
cause, consuming and weakening the body. Here indo- 
lence and sluggishness are considered as needful rest ; 
there the child's physical mobility, a symptom of over- 
stimulation, and independent of true spiritual causes, is 
greeted as true increase and development of life. 

It is by far easier than we think to promote and 
establish the happiness and welfare of mankind. All 
the means are simple and at hand ; yet we see them not. 
We see them, perhaps, but do not notice them. In 
their simplicity, naturalness, availability, and nearness, 
they seem too insignificant, and we despise them. We 
seek help from afar, although help is only in and through 
ourselves. Hence, at a later period, half or all our ac- 
cumulated wealth can not procure for our children what 
greater insight and a clearer vision discern as their 
greatest good. This they now must miss, or can enjoy 
but partially and scantily. It might have been theirs 
without effort, as it were, had we in their childhood 
attended to it but a little more ; indeed, it would have 
been theirs in full measure had we expended very much 
less for their physical comfort. 

Would that to each young, newly married couple 
there could be shown, in all its vividness, only one of 
the sad experiences and observations in its small and 
seemingly insignificant beginnings, and in its incalcu- 
lable consequences, that tend utterly to destroy all the 
good of later education ! — only one of these sad experi- 
ences, of which the educator is compelled to make hun- 
dreds, and whose knowledge can help him but little to 
counteract the injurious consequences of the respective 



CLOTHING OP CHILDHOOD. 63 

faults in the later life of tliose in whom lie observes 
them ; for who does not know the mighty influence of 
early impressions ? 

And here it is easy to avoid the wrong and to find 
the right. Always let the food be simply for nourish- 
ment — never more, never less, ]>[ever should food be 
taken for its own sake, but only for the sake of promot- 
ing bodily and mental activity. Still less should the 
peculiarities of the food, its taste or delicacy, ever be- 
come an object in themselves, but only a means to make 
it good, pure, wholesome nourishment ; else, in both 
cases, the food destroys health. 

Let the food of the child, then, be as simple as the 
circumstances in which the child lives can afford ; and 
let it be given in quantities proportioned to his bodily 
and mental activity. 

§ 32. In order to enable the child at this period to 
move and play, to develop and grow freely, and without 
hindrance, his clothing should be free from lacing and 
pressure of all kinds ; for such clothing would oppress 
and fetter also the spirit of the child. The clothing of 
the child, in this as well as in the next period, should 
not bind the body ; * for it will have on the mind, on 
the soul, of the child, the same effect it has on the body. 
Clothes, in form and color and cut, should never become 
an object in themselves, else they will soon direct the 
child's attention to his appearance instead of his real 
being, make him vain and frivolous — dollish — a puppet 
instead of a human being. Clothing, therefore, is by no 
means an unimportant concern, either for the child or 

* By tijjlit lacing, close-fitting seamSj and multiplicity of articles of 
clothing. — Tr. 



64 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

tlie adult man, as it is desirable for him, even as a Chris- 
tian, to be able to say, " Without piece and without 
seam, only a continuous whole, like the garment of 
Jesus, was also his Hfe and work, and his doctrine." 

§ 33. The aim and object of the parental care of the 
child, in the domestic and family circle, then, is to 
awaken and develop, to quicken all the powers and 
natural gifts of the child, to enable all the members and 
organs of man to fulfill the requirements of the child's 
powers and gifts. 

[Herbert Spencer, who, although ignorant of Froebel's work, 
has so many points of contact with him, finds the proper function 
of education in " preparation for complete living," which is the free 
exercise of all our faculties. There seems to be little fundamental 
difference, too, between the physiological, psychological, sociological, 
and ethical limitations of complete living on the part of Spencer, 
and the life-unity with self, mankind, nature, the universe, and God 
demanded by Froebel. (Compare § 19.) — TrJ] 

The natural mother does all this instinctively, %\ath- 
out instruction and direction ; but this is not enough : 
it is needful that she should do it consciously, as a con- 
scious being acting upon another being which is growing 
into consciousness (see § 56), and consciously tending 
toward the continuous development of the human being, 
in a certain inner living connection (see § 2). 

[That instinct alone is not sufficient to enable the mother to guide 
the child aright is amply shown by the many cruel practices to 
which children are subjected among barbarous tribes, and by the 
survival of many senseless and even pernicious customs in the nur- 
series of even the most cvdtured communities of our day. Consci- 
entious mothers everywhere point with expressions of deepest regret 
to the many oversights and neglects of which they were unwittingly 
guilty, the many misunderstandings and misapplications that blurred 
their efficiency, the many blunders whose pernicious effects years of 



EARLIEST LESSONS. 65 

subsequent toil could not efface. Insight will add a conscious pur- 
pose to the instinct ; it will arouse the sense of duty in the soul, it 
will enable the head to help the heart, add wisdom to love, avoid 
waste, and insure success. — Tr.] 

By sketching lier work, therefore, I hope to show it 
to her in its nature, significance, and connection. It is 
time, the plainest thoughtful mother could do this more 
fully, more perfectly, and more deeply; but through 
imperfection man rises to perfection. I trust, therefore, 
that this sketch may awaken faithful and calm, thought- 
ful and rational parental love, and show us the course 
of development in childhood in unbroken succession. 

" Give me your arm." " Where is your hand ? " 
In such words the mother strives to teach the child to 
feel the complexity of his body and the difference be- 
tween his limbs. 

" Bite your finger." This is an especially well-con- 
ceived action, which a deep natural feeling has suggested 
to the thoughtful mother playing with her child. It 
induces reflection in its earliest phases, by tending to 
bring to the child's knowledge an object which, although 
it has an individuality of its own, is yet united with the 
child. 

!Not less important is the mother's pleasantly playful 
manner of leading the child to a knowledge of the mem- 
bers which he can not see, the nose, the ears, the tongue, 
and teeth. The mother gently pulls the nose or ear, as 
if she meant to separate them from head or face, and, 
showing to the child the half -concealed end of her finger 
or thumb, says, " Here I have the ear, the nose," and 
the child quickly puts his hand to his ear or nose, and 
smiles with intense joy to find them in their right places. 



66 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

In this action tlie mother first arouses and directs in the 
child a desire to know even what he can not see exter- 
nally. 

All this tends to lead the child to self-consciousness, 
to reflection about himself in the approaching period of 
bojhood. Thus, a boy ten years old, similarly guided 
by instinct, believing himseK unobserved, soliloquized : 
" I am not my arm, nor my ear ; all my limbs and organs 
I can separate from myself, and I still remain myself ; I 
wonder what I am ; who and what this is which I call 
myself ? " 

In the same spirit, maternal love continues with the 
child, in order to lead him to use these things. " Show 
me your tongue." " Show me your tooth." " Bite it 
with your tooth." " Slip the foot into the stocking — 
into the shoe." " There is the foot in the stocking — in 
the shoe." 

Thus maternal instinct and love gradually introduce 
the child to his little outside world, proceeding from the 
whole to the part, from the near to the remote. 

Similarly, as she at first sought to bring to the child's 
notice objects as such, and in their relative positions, she 
soon directs attention to theu' attributes and qualities. 
In this, of course, she first shows them in their actions, 
and only later in their passive conditions. 

She says, " The candle burns," as she cautiously 
holds the child's finger toward the flame, enabling him 
to feel the heat without being really burned, and guard- 
ing him against an unknown danger. Or, she says, 
" The knife pricks," as she carefully and gently presses 
the point of the knife against the child's finger. Or, 
" The soup bums your mouth." 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. Q>J 

At a later period, as if she would direct the cliild to 
the permanence of the active quality, or to its cause, the 
mother says, " The soup is hot, it hums you." " The 
knife is sharp, it pricks, it cuts ; let it alone." From a 
knowledge of the effect, the mother leads to the imma- 
nent lasting cause, sharp j and, later, from a knowledge 
of the immanent quality to a knowledge of the effect, 
pricking, cutting, as such, without the direct personal 
experience of these effects. 

Further on, the mother leads the child first to feel 
his own action, and then to contemplate the action it- 
self. Thus, the mother delightfully teaching him in 
all she does and says, requests the child who is to take 
food, " Open your mouth " ; or, when he is to be 
washed, " Close your eyes " ; or she teaches the child 
to find the object of his action. Thus, when she lays 
the child in his httle bed, she says, " Go to sleep " ; or, 
as she lifts a spoonful of food to his lips, "Eat, my 
pet." And, in order to direct his attention to the effect 
of the food upon the nerves of taste and upon the re- 
lation between the food and the body, she says, " How 
good that tastes ! " In order to direct his attention to 
the smell of flowers, the mother imitates the noise of 
snuffing, and says, "How good that smells! Would 
you Hke to smell it ? " Or, on the other hand, she turns 
with the expression of displeasure her face away from 
the flower, which she removes from the child. 

Thus, the plainest mother, who with her beloved 
child withdraws almost bashfully into privacy — lest un- 
consecrated eyes profane the sanctuary — seeks in the 
most natural manner to arouse to full activity all his 
limbs and senses. 



68 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Unfortimately, our conceit induces us to lose sight 
of this natural and divine starting-point of all human 
development ; we stand perplexed, having lost begin- 
ning and end, and therefore the right direction. Hav- 
ing denied God and nature, we seek counsel from hu- 
man knowledge and wit. We build houses of cards ; 
but there is no room in them for the ways of the nat- 
ural mother, for divine influence ; and the slightest ut- 
terance of the child, impelled by the joy and instinct of 
life, throws them do\vn. If they should stand, the 
child must be, if not bodily, yet intellectually fettered. 

Where has this discussion taken us ? Into the nur- 
sery of the worldly-wise, of the so-called refined people, 
who scarcely believe that there are in the child germs 
which, if they are to thrive, must be developed early ; 
who know still less that all the child is ever to be and 
become, lies — however shghtly indicated — in the child, 
and can be attained only through development from 
within outward. 

How dead, therefore, does everything seem here; 
how cold, or, at best, how loud and noisy ! But, is not 
the mother here ? Alas ! it is not the mother's room, 
it is only the nursery. 

Away! and let us again go where not only the 
room of child and mother is one, but where even 
mother and child are still one; where the mother is 
loath to give the care of her child to strangers. Let us 
see and hear how the mother, there, shows to the child 
objects in their motions : " Hark ! the bird sings ! The 
dog says, ' bow-wow ! ' " And then, directly from the 
word to the name, from hearing to sight, " Where is 
Peep-peep ? Where is Bow-wow ? " The mother even 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 69 

ventures to lead from tlie contemplation of tlie thing 
and its quality in their connection to the contemplation 
of the quality as distinct from the thing. " The bird 
flies," she says at first about the actual bird that flies. 
" See the little bird," she says later, on beholding the 
flitting, unsteady light-reflection that comes from the 
moving surface of water or of a mirror. Then, in 
order to teach the child that this is an incorporeal phe- 
nomenon which shares with the bird only its mobility, 
she says, " Catch the little bird," and asks the child to 
cover the reflection with his hands. 

Again, in order to lead the child to the contempla- 
tion of the motion alone, the mother says, when she be- 
holds the pendulum oscillations of some object, " swing- 
swong," or " To-fro." 

Similarly, she seeks to attract the child's attention 
to the mutability of things — e. g., showing the lighted 
candle, " Here is the light " ; taking it away, " All gone, 
light " ; or, " Pa|)a comes," and, " J3y-by, papa." 
Again, showing the self -mobility of things, "Come, 
kitty, to my pet," and, " Run, kitty, run." She incites 
the child to bodily activity — " Hold the flower," " Catch 
the kitty," or, slowly rolling the ball, "Catch the 
ball." 

All-embracing mother-love seeks to awaken and to 
interpret the feeling of community between the child 
and the father, brother, and sister, which is so .impor- 
tant, when she says, " Love dear papa " ; or as she caress- 
ingly passes the child's hand over the father's cheek, 
" Dear, dear papa " ; or, " Love little sister," etc. 

In addition to the sense of community as such, the 
germ of so mucli glorious development, the mother's love 
9 



70 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

seeks also througli movements to lead the child to feel 
his own inner life. By regular, rhythmic movements — 
and this is of special importance — she brings this life 
within the child's conscious control when she dandles 
him up and down on her hand or arm in rhythmic 
movements and to rhythmic sounds. 

Thus the genuine, natural mother cautiously follows 
in all directions the slowly developing, all-sided life in 
the child. She strengthens it, and tlms arouses to ever- 
greater activity the still more all-sided Hfe within, and 
develops this. 

Others suppose the child to be empty, wish to inocu- 
late him with life, make him as empty as they think 
him to be, and deprive him of life, as it were. Thus, 
too, there are lost again in word and tone those means 
of cultivation that lead so simply and naturally to the 
development of rhythm and obedience to law in all 
human life-utterances, for their significance is recog- 
nized by few persons, and by still fewer persons con- 
sidered and further unfolded in connection mth the 
further development of hfe in the hmnan being. 

Nevertheless, an early, pure development of rhyth- 
mic movement would prove most wholesome in the 
succeeding life-periods of the human being. We rob 
ourselves as educators, and we still more rob the child 
as pupil by discontinuing so soon the development of 
rhythmic movements in early education. It would be 
easier for him to compass the legitimate, proper measure 
of his life. Much willfulness, impropriety, and coarse- 
ness would be taken out of his life, his movements, and 
actions. He would secure more firmness and modera- 
tion, more harmony ; and, later on, there would be de- 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 71 

veloped in liim a liiglier appreciation of nature and art, 
of music and poetry (see § 80). 

Even very small children, in moments of quiet, and 
particularly when going to sleep, will hum little strains 
of songs they have heard ; this, too, has not escaped 
the attention of the observant, thoughtful mother, and 
should be heeded and developed even more in the edu- 
cation of little children as the first germ of future 
growth in melody and song. Undoubtedly this would 
soon lead in children to a self-activity similar to that 
attained in speech, and children whose faculty of speech 
has been thus developed and trained, find, seemingly 
without effort, the words for new ideas, peculiar associa- 
tions and relations among newly discovered qualities. 

Thus, a very little girl, brought up in child-like 
purity by maternal thoughtfulness, after long and 
thoughtful examination of the soft and do-^my leaves of 
a plant, exclaimed joyfully, " Oh, how woolly ! " The 
mother could not recollect that she had ever directed 
the child's attention to such a quality. 

Similarly, the same child, on beholding the two most 
brilliant planets quite near each other in the clear, 
starry sky, exclaimed joyfully, " Father and mother 
stars!" Yet the mother had not the least idea how 
this association with the stars had been called up in the 
child's mind. 

§ 34. In teaching the child to stand and walk, we 
should use neither perambulators nor leading-strings. 
He should stand when he is strong enough to keep his 
balance freely and independently ; and he should walk 
when, freely moving forward, he can independently 
keep his balance. He should not stand before he can 



72 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

sit erect, draw himself up by some tall object near by, 
and thus keep his balance without support. He should 
not walk before he can creep, rise freely, maintain his 
balance, and proceed by his own effort. At first, when 
at some distance from his mother, he has raised himself 
by his own effort, the return to the mother's lap will 
invite him to go forward. Soon, however, the child 
feels strength in his own feet, rejoices intensely over it, 
and, for his own pleasure, repeats the new art for its 
own sake, as formerly he repeated the art of standing. 
In a short time he begins the practice of the art with- 
out strain or effort ; he is attracted by the bright, round, 
smooth pebble, by the gayly-colored, fluttering bit of 
paper, by the smooth, symmetrical, three- or four-cor- 
nered piece of board, by the rectangular blocks of 
wood for building, by the brilliant, quaint leaf, and he 
tries to get hold of these with the help of the newly 
acquired use of his limbs, to bring like things together, 
and to separate things that are unlike. Look at the 
child that can scarcely keep himself erect, and that can 
walk only with greatest care — he sees a twig, a bit of 
straw ; painfully he secures it, and, like the young bird 
in spring, carries it to his nest, as it were. 

Behold, again, the child laboriously stooping and 
slowly going forward on the ground, under the eaves of 
the roof. The force of the rain has washed out of the 
sand small, smooth, bright pebbles, and the ever-observ- 
ing child gathers them as building-stones, as it were, as 
material for future building. And is he wrong ? Does 
not the child, in truth, collect material for his future 
life-building? Like--things must here be ranged to- 
gether, things unlike must be separated. ISTot crude 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. Y3 

things, but things wronglit out of their crudeuess, are 
to be joined together. 

§ 35. If the building is to be sound, all the material 
must be known not only by its name, but also by its 
qualities and uses ; and, that the child desires this, is 
shown in his child-like, quiet, busy activity. We call 
it childish because we do not understand it, because we 
have not eyes to see, nor ears to hear, and, still less, 
feeling to feel with the child ; we are dull, therefore 
the child's life seems dull to us. We do not know its 
meaning; how, then, can we interpret it for the child? 
And yet it is the longing for this interpretation that 
urges the child to appeal to us. How can we impart 
a language to the things of child-life when they are 
dumb in us ? And yet it is the intense desire for this 
that urges the child to bring his treasures to us and to 
lay them in our laps. The child loves all things that 
enter his small horizon and extend his little world. To 
him the least thing is a new discovery ; but it must not 
come dead into the little world, nor lie dead therein, 
lest it obscure the small horizon and crush the little 
world. 

Therefore, the child would know himself why he 
loves this thing ; he would know all its properties, its 
innermost nature, that he may learn to understand him- 
self in his attachment. For this reason the child ex- 
amines the object on all sides ; for this reason he tears 
and breaks it ; for this reason he puts it in his mouth 
and bites it. We reprove the child for his naughtiness 
and foolishness ; and yet he is wiser than we who re- 
prove him. 

The child would know the inner nature of the thing. 



74 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

An innate instinct wliicli, properly appreciated and 
guided, would seek to find God in all his works, urges 
him to this. God gave him understanding, reason, lan- 
guaofe. Those who lead his life do not, can not gratify 
this instinct. Where, then, shall the child seek gratifi- 
cation for this instinct of research, if not from the ob- 
ject itseK ? 

It is tnie the broken object, too, is dumb ; yet it 
reveals in its fragments at least either like or unlike 
parts, as is instanced in the broken stone, the torn 
flower, and this means an extension of knowledge. Do 
adults extend their knowledge in a different way ? Is 
not the inside of the plant pithy, hollow, or woody ? Is 
not its cross-section circular, triangular, square, polyg- 
onal ? Is not the fracture even or uneven, smooth or 
rough, impervious or porous, splintery or conchoidal, or 
hackly or fibrous ? Are not the fragments sharp or 
blunt-edged ? Is it not brittle, or does it not rather 
yield to the blows without breaking ? 

All this the child does in order that from the diver- 
sity of outer manifestations of the object its inner na- 
ture and its relation to him may become revealed to 
him, that he may know the cause of his liking, his fond- 
ness of the object ? And do we adults who seek knowl- 
edge proceed differently ? 

We overlook this in the child's activity, and we do 
not recognize its value and significance until the teacher 
does it, and requests our sons to do it. 

Therefore, even the lucid word of the most lucid 
teacher frequently has no influence upon our sons ; for 
they are asked to learn now with the teacher what they 
should have learned in childhood with the help of our 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 75 

quickening explanations ; what, indeed, childhood meant 
they should learn almost without effort. 

And yet how little is needed from attendants to aid 
childhood in this tendency ! It is only needful to desig- 
nate, to name, to put into words what the child does, 
sees, and finds. 

Rich, indeed, is the life of the child ripening into 
boyhood ; but we see it not. Real is his life, but we 
feel it not. His life accords with the destiny and mis- 
sion of humanity, but we know it not. "We not only 
fail to guard, nurse, and develop the inner germ of his 
life, but we allow it to be stifled and crushed by the 
weight of his own instincts, or to find vent on some 
weaker side in unnaturalness. We then see the same 
phenomenon which, in the plant, we call wild-shoot, or 
water-shoot, a misdirection of the energies, of the de- 
sires and instincts in the child (the human plant). 

Now, at last, we would fain give another direction 
to the energies, desires, and instincts of the child grow- 
ing into boyhood ; but it is too late. For the deep 
meaning of child-life passing into boyhood we not only 
failed to appreciate, but we misjudged it ; we not only 
failed to nurse it, but we misdirected and crushed it. 

§ 36. A child has found a pebble. In order to de- 
termine by experiment its properties, he has rubbed it 
on a board near by, and has discovered its property of 
imparting color. It is a fragment of lime, clay, red- 
stone, or chalk. 

See how he delights in the newly discovered prop- 
erty, and how busily he makes use of it! Soon the 
whole surface of the board is changed. 

At first the boy took delight in the new property. 



76 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

then in the changed surface — now red, now white, now 
black, now brown — but soon he began to find pleasure 
in the winding, straight, curved, and other forms that 
appear. These linear phenomena direct his attention 
to the linear properties of surrounding objects. Now 
the head becomes a circle, and now the circular line 
represents the head, the elliptical curve connected with 
it represents the body ; arms and legs appear as straight 
or broken lines, and these again represent arms and legs ; 
the fingers he sees as straight lines meeting in a common 
point, and lines so connected are, for the busy child, 
again hands and fingers ; the eyes he sees as dots, and 
these again represent eyes ; and thus a new world opens 
within and without. For what man tries to represent 
or do he begins to understand. 

The perception and representation of linear relations 
open to the child on the threshold of boyhood a new 
world in various directions. Not only can he represent 
the outer world in reduced measure, and thus compre- 
hend it more easily with his eyes ; not only can he re- 
produce outwardly what lives in his mind as a remi- 
niscence or new association, but the knowledge of a 
wholly new invisible world, the world of forces, has its 
tenderest rootlets right here. 

The ball that is rolling or has been rolled, the stone 
that has been thrown and falls, the water that was 
dammed and conducted into many branching ditches — 
all these have taught the child that the effect of a force, 
in its individual manifestations, is always in the direc- 
tion of a line. 

Thus the representation of objects by lines soon 
leads the child to the perception and representation of 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. ^7 

the direction in which a force acts. " Here flows a 
brook," and, saying this, the child makes a mark indi- 
catmg the course of a brook. The child has drawn lines 
signifying to him a tree. " Here grows another branch, 
and here still another," and as he speaks he draws forth 
from the tree, as it were, the hnes indicating the 
branches. 

Yery significantly the child says, " Here comes a 
bird flying," and draws in the direction of the supposed 
flight a winding line. 

Give the child a bit of chalk or the like, and soon 
a new creation will stand before him and you. Let 
the father, too, in a few hnes, sketch a man, a horse. 
This man of Hnes, this horse of lines, will give the 
child more joy than an actual man, an actual horse 
would do. 

§ 37. Mothers and attendants, would you know how 
to lead the child in this matter ? See and observe the 
child ; he will teach you what to do. 

Here a child traces a table by passing its fingers 
along its edges and outlines, as far as he can reach them. 
Thus the child sketches the object on the object itseK, 
as it were. This is the first, and, for the child, the 
safest step by which he first becomes aware of the out- 
lines and forms of objects. In like manner he sketches 
and studies the chair, the bench, the window. 

Soon, however, the child advances. He draws lines 
across four-sided boards — the table, the seat of the 
chair or bench — vaguely anticipating that this is the 
method for retaining the forms and relations of sm*- 
faces. A httle later he draws the form in reduced 
measure. 



Y8 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Behold ! here lie lias slvetchcd the table, the chair, 
the bench, and many other things, on the table-top.* 
Do you not see how he developed and grew spontane- 
ously to this attainment ? 

Objects which he could move, which he could take 
in at one glance, he laid on a board or bench or table, 
and sketched their outline by passing his hand around 
them. Later on, scissors and boxes, and still later, leaves 
and twigs, nay, the child's own hand and the shadows 
of objects, are sketched in this way. 

Many things are gained by these proceedings of the 
child — more than I can enumerate — a clear conception 
of forms, the power to represent the forms independ- 
ently, the fixing of the forms as such, strengthening and 
practice of the arm and hand in free representation of 
these. 

The attentive mother, the thoughtful father, the 
sympathetic family (without any of them having ever 
dra^vn, without an artist among them), may lead the 
child growing into boyhood to draw with tolerable ac- 
curacy a straight line, a diagonal or diameter, even rect- 
angular objects in vertical position (e. g., mirrors, win- 
dows, and many other things), with some degree of 
resemblance. 



* It was formerly not uncommon to find table- tops made of large slabs 
of slate-stone. There was such a table in my father' s house when I was a 
boy. I still connect with it many a fruitful memory of earnest studies of 
form and outline, of delightful trains of fancy, and of vigorous struggles of 
invention that made the ugliest weather a boon. A small portable black- 
board is an excellent substitute for such a table. It will accomplish more 
for the child's understanding of things, and for the vigorous development 
of a healthy imagination, than the most earnest talks, and the most ideal 
story-books could do. — Tr. 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 79 

It is not only conducive but necessary to tlie devel- 
opment and strengthening of the child's power and skill 
that parents should, without being pedantic or too exact- 
ing, connect the child's actions with suitable language, 
e. g., " Now I draw a table, a mirror ; now I draw the 
diagonal of the slate, of the board." 

This enhances the inner and the outer power, in- 
creases knowledge, awakens the judgment and reflection, 
which avoids so many blunders, and which, in a natural 
way, can not be aroused too soon. For the word and 
the drawing * are always mutually explanatory and com- 
plementary ; for neither one is, by itself, exhaustive and 
sufficient with reference to the object represented. The 
drawing properly stands between the word and the 
thing, shares certain qualities with each of them, and is, 
therefore, so valuable in the development of the child. 
The true drawing has this in common with the thing, 
that it seeks to represent it in form and outline ; hke 
the word, however, it never is the thing itself, but only 
an image of the thing. The word and the drawing are 
again clearly opposed in their nature : for the drawing 
is dead, while the word lives ; the drawing is visible, as 
the word is audible. The word and the drawing, there- 
fore, belong together inseparably, as light and shadow, 
night and day, soul and body do. The faculty of draw- 
ing is, therefore, as much innate in the child, in man, as 
is the faculty of speech, and demands its development 
and cultivation as imperatively as the latter ; experience 
shows this clearly in the child's love for drawing, in the 
child's instinctive desire for drawing. 

* I translate Zeichen here by drawing^ not symbol, inasmuch as Froe- 
bel has reference to the drawings just described. — Tr. 



80 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

[Drawing offers the child the full connection between the inner 
and the outer, so far as the eye is concerned. Here outer objects are 
freed of all the attributes of corporeality ; and yet their images have 
a visible reality, and vividly recall the absent attributes. Here the 
child gives visible expression to his ideas. Here he feels the full 
delight of creating, as it were, whatever his fancy dictates. This 
accounts for the evident eagerness with which he returns, again and 
again, to slate and pencil, and for the satisfaction with which he 
lingers with them. — Tr.J 

§ 38. The representation of objects by and in draw- 
ing induces and implies clear perception, and tbis soon 
leads tbe child to the ready recognition of the constantly 
repeated association of certain numbers of similar ob- 
jects — e. g., two eyes and two arms, five fingers and 
five toes, the six legs of the beetle and of the fly. Thus 
the drawing of the object leads to the discovery of num- 
ber (see §§ 75, 99). The re]3eated return of one and the 
same object leads to counting. The fixed distinctive 
sum of objects similar in certain respects constitutes 
the number of these objects. Thus, by a new discovery, 
by the development and cultivation of the number- fac- 
ulty in the child, his sphere of knowledge, his world, is 
again extended ; and an essential need of his inner be- 
ing, a certain yearning of his spirit, is satisfied by this 
development. For the child has heretofore viewed his 
greater or smaller quantities of similar and dissimilar 
objects with a certain longing, a vague feeling that he 
still lacks a certain means of knowledge. He was still 
unable to recognize and to determine the relative quan- 
tities of these different heaps of things ; but now he 
knows he has two large and three small pebbles, four 
white and five yellow fiowers, etc. The knowledge of 
number relations adds very much to the child's life. 



MAN m EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 81 

The mind of tlie child requires, however, that the 
mother and other attendants should, from the very be- 
gimiing and early, develop in the child the number- 
faculty in accordance with the nature of number, and 
with the specific laws of human thought. 

If the child is quietly observed, it will be easy to 
see how he follows spontaneously the road implied by 
the laws of human thought, proceeding from the visi- 
ble to the invisible and more abstract. He does this 
unconsciously, it is true, but surely. At first the child 
places together similar objects, and obtains thus, e. g., 
apples, pears, nuts, beans. 

Let, now, the mother or some other attendant add the 
explanatory word ; in other words, let them join the 
visible with the audible, thus bringing it nearer the 
child's insight and knowledge, nearer his inner percep- 
tion, by naming these objects. 

Who has not observed and had frequent opportuni- 
ties to see how the child arranges the objects of each 
kind singly in a row ? Let the mother here again add 
the explanatory, quickening word, saying, e. g. : 
Apple, apple, apple, apple, etc. ; all apples. 
Pear, pear, pear, pear, etc. ; all pears ; 
or whatever else the child may have placed in the 
rows — nuts, beans, pebbles, or leaves — of each kind of 
objects there are always several. Now, in order to 
enable the child particularly to see this, let the mother 
speak the words in common with the child, as just in- 
dicated. 

Later, when the mother has the child to arrange the 
objects one after the other, let her describe this proceed- 
ing with the child definitely and clearly, thus : 
10 



82 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

One apple, anotlier apple, still anotlier apple ; many- 
apples. 

One pear, anotlier pear, still another pear; many 
pears. 

And so on with other objects. The quantity of 
each kind of objects is continually increased by the 
regular addition of a new object of the same kind. 

Instead of the indefinite words " another," " still an- 
other,'' the mother subsequently uses the numerals defi- 
nitely indicating the increase, counting together with 
the child, thus : 

One apple, two apples, three apples, etc. 

One pear, two pears, three pears, four pears, etc. 

Again, let the mother place several objects of each 
kind in naturally increasing quantities, in successive sets, 
and indicate in words what she does, thus : 
* apple, * pear, 

* * apples, * * pears, 

* * * apples, etc. * * * pears, etc. 

Subsequently, again, let mother and child pronounce to- 
gether. At last let the child do the arranging as well 
as the speaking, counting alone. 

While here with each number the kind of object 
was still named, let, subsequently, the numbers only be 
named and reserve the name of the kind of object for 
the last number, thus : 

* (one), * * (two), * * * (three), * * * * (four apples) ; 

* (one), * * (two), * * * (three), * * * * (four pears), etc. 

Here the successive groups of objects are considered 
chiefly with reference to their numbers, the considera- 
tion of the kind of object lying in the backgroimd. 
Lastly, the mother names only the numbers in the 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 83 

series, leaving the kind of objects wholly out of consid- 
eration, thus : 

* (one), * * (two), * * * (three), * * * * (four), ***** (five), etc. 
This is the abstract consideration and perception of 
groups in their natural succession, the perception of 
numbers as such. 

In this way a clear and sure knowledge of numbers 
(at least up to ten) should be developed in the period 
of childhood. But at no time should the numerals be 
given to the child as empty, unmeaning sounds and be 
thus repeated by him; by such a method the child 
might be led to count two, four, seven, eight, one, 
five, two, if it were not rescued at last by the native 
power of the human mind, throwing off all things un- 
natural. 

For a long time the child should never say the nu- 
merals, which, in themselves, are empty and meaning- 
less to him, without the aid of objects which he actually 
counts. 

In this presentation of the development of number 
ideas there has been given, at the same time, an illus- 
tration in what manner and according to what laws the 
child ascends from the perception of individual things 
to the more general and the most general conceptions. 
It is true, in experience, this transition is often quite 
sudden. 

§ 39. What wealth, what abundance and vigor of 
inner and outer hfe, do we now find in the rightly 
guided and guarded child toward the close of childhood 
and entrance into the period of boyhood ! Where wiU. 
the coming man find an object of thought and feeling, 
of knowledge and skill, that does not have its tenderest 



84: THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

rootlets in the years of childhood ? What subject of 
future instruction and discipline does not germinate in 
childhood ? 

Language and nature lie open before the child. He 
begins to apprehend the properties of number, form, 
magnitude, the knowledge of space, the nature of forces, 
the effects of substances. Color, i^hythm, melodious 
sound, and shapeliness have impressed him in their ul- 
timate germs and in their peculiar significance. He has 
begun to distinguish, with some degree of definiteness, 
nature and the world of art, and has commenced, with 
some degree of certainty, to contrast himself with the 
outer world ; already there has been aroused in him the 
consciousness of an inner world of his own. I^everthe- 
less, we have as yet not touched nor even considered an 
important side of child-life, the side of association with 
father and mother, brother and sister, in their domestic 
cares, in their professional duties. 

§ 40. I look about me : I see the scarcely two-year- 
old child of a day-laborer leading his horse ; the father 
has placed the halter in the child's hands. Calmly and 
deliberately the little fellow walks before the horse, and 
looks back with steady eye to see if the horse is follow- 
ing. It is true, the father holds the check-reins in his 
hand, still the child firmly believes that he leads the 
horse, that the horse must obey him. For, see, the 
father stops to speak to an acquaintance, and, of course, 
the horse stops too ; but the child, thinking the horse 
willful, pulls the halter with all his might to make it 
go on. 

My neighboi''s son, scarcely three years old, tends 
his mother's goslings near my garden-hedge. The 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 85 

Space to whicli he is to confine tlie lively little creatures 
in their search for food is small. They escape from the 
little swain, who may have been busy in other ways, 
seeking food for his mind. The goslings get into the 
road, where they are exposed to injury. The mother 
sees this, and calls out to the child to be careful. The 
little boy who, by the ever-renewed efforts for freedom 
on the part of the goslings, probably had been often 
disturbed in his own pursuits, retorts in his vexation, 
" Mother, you seem to think it is not hard to tend the 
goslings." 

Who can indicate the present and future develop- 
ments which the child reaps from this part of the 
parent's work, and which he might reap even more 
abundantly, if parents and attendants heeded the mat- 
ter and made use of it later on in the instruction and 
training of their children? 

Behold here the little child of the gardener. He is 
weeding ; the child wishes to help, and he teaches the 
little fellow to distinguish hemlock from parsley, to 
observe the differences in the brilliancy and odor of the 
leaves. 

There the forester's son accompanies his father to 
the clearing that, at some previous time, they together 
had sown. Everything looks green. The child sees 
only young pine-plants ; but the father teaches him to 
recognize the cypress-spurge and to distinguish it from 
the pine-plant by its different properties. 

Again, the father takes aim and fires ; he hits the 
mark, and teaches the attentive child that three points 
that lie in the same direction always lie in one and the 
same straight line ; that in order to direct a Hue — the 



86 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

barrel of the rifle — toward a certain point, three points 
must be laid in this direction, and that, when this has 
been done, all other points of the gun-barrel lie in the 
same line and direction. 

In another place the child sees his father striking 
the hot iron, and is taught by the father that the heat 
makes the iron softer ; and, again, as the father tries in 
vain to push the heated iron rod through an opening 
through which before it passed so easily, that her.t ex- 
pands the iron. 

[Froebel here continues through three pages to fur- 
nish similar illustrations from a variety of professions 
and trades, showing the exhaustless wealth of informa- 
tion and discipline that may come to the child from this 
loving intercourse with a kind and thoughtful father 
in his daily work. — T/\'] 

The child — your child, ye fathers — feels this so in- 
tensely, so vividly, that he follows you wherever yon 
are, wherever you go, in whatever you do. Do not 
harshly repel him ; show no impatience about his ever- 
recurring questions. Every harshly repelling word 
crushes a bud or shoot of his tree of life. Do not, how- 
ever, tell him in words much more than he could find 
himself without your words. For it is, of course, easier 
to hear the answer from another, perhaps to only half 
hear and understand it, than it is to seek and dis- 
cover it himseK. To have found one fourth of the 
answer by his own eifort is of more value and impor- 
tance to the child than it is to half hear and half under- 
stand it in the words of another ; for this causes mental 
indolence. Do not, therefore, always answer your 
children's questions at once and directly ; but, as soon 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 8Y 

as they have gathered sufficient strength and experience, 
furnish them with the means to find the answers in the 
sphere of their own knowledge. 

Let parents — more particularly fathers (for to their 
special care and guidance the child ripening into boy- 
hood is confided) — let fathers contemplate what the 
fulfillment of their paternal duties in child-guidance 
yields to them ; let them feel the joys it brings. It is 
not possible to gain from anything higher joy, higher 
enjoyment, than we do from the guidance of our chil- 
dren, from living with and for our children. It is in- 
conceivable how we can seek and expect to find any- 
where higher joy, higher enjoyment, fuller gratification 
of our best desires than we can find in intercourse with 
our children ; more recreation than we can find in the 
family circle, where we can create joy for ourselves in 
so many respects. 

TVe should be deeply impressed with the truth of 
these statements could we but see in his plain home- 
surroundings, in his happy, joyous family, the father 
who, from his own resources, has created what here has 
been but partially described. In a few words he sums 
up his rule of conduct: "To lead children early to 
think, this I consider the first and foremost object of 
child-training." 

To give them eai'ly habits of work and industry 
seemed to him so natural and obvious a course as to need 
no statement in words. Besides, the child that has 
been led to think will thereby, at the same time, be 
led to industry, diligence — to all domestic and civic 
virtues. 

Those words are a seed from which springs a shady. 



88 THE EDUCATIOiN OF MAN. 

evergreen tree of life, full of fragrant blossoms and 
sound, ripe fruit. May those of us who allow our chil- 
dren to grow up thoughtless and idle, and therefore 
dull and dead, hear and heed this ! 

§ 41. But — it is hard to saj it, yet its truth will ap- 
pear if, in our intercourse and life with our children, 
we cast a searching glance upon the condition of our 
minds and hearts — we are dull, our surroundings are 
dull to us. "With all our knowledge, we are empty for 
our children. Almost all we say is hollow and empty, 
without meaning and without life. Only in the few 
rare cases, when our discourse rests on mtercourse 
with life and nature, we enjoy its life. 

Let us hasten, then ! Let us impart life to ourselves, 
to our children ; let us through them give meaning to 
our speech and life to the things about us ! Let us live 
with them, and let them live with us ; thus shall we 
obtain tlu-ough them what we all need. 

Our words, our discourses in social life, are dull, are 
empty husks, lifeless puppets, worthless chips ; they are 
devoid of inner life and meaning ; they are evil spirits, 
for they have neither body nor substance. 

Our surroundings are dead and dull. Objects are 
matter. They crush, instead of lifting us, for they lack 
the quickening word that gives them significance and 
meaning. 

- We do not feel the meaning of what we saj, for our 
speech is made up of memorized ideas, based neither 
on perception nor on productive effort. Therefore, it 
does not lead to perception, production, life ; it has not 
proceeded, it does not proceed, from life. 

Our speech is like the book out of which we have 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 89 

learned it, at third or fourth hand. We do not our- 
selves see what we say, we can not give outer form to 
what we say. Therefore, our speech is so empty and 
meaningless. For this reason, and only for this, our 
inward and outward life, as well as the life of our chil- 
dren, is so poor, because our speech is not born from a 
life, rich inwardly and outwardly, in seeing and doing ; 
because our speech, our word, is not based on the per- 
ception of the thing it designates. Therefore, we hear 
the sound, it is true, but we fail to get the image ; we 
hear the noise, but see no movement. 

§ 42. Fathers, parents, let us see that our children 
may not suffer from similar deficiencies. What we no 
longer possess — the all-quickening, creative power of 
child-life — let it again be translated from their life into 
ours. 

Let us learn from our children, let us give heed to 
the gentle admonitions of their life, to the silent de- 
mands of their minds. 

Let us live with our children : then will the life of 
our children bring us peace and joy, then shall we begin 
to grow wise, to be wise. 

[This celebrated saying, " Kommt, lasst wis xmsern Kindern le- 
hen ! " is frequently translated, " Come, let ns live for our children ! " 
Ufisern Kindern is the dative ease, and implies here devotion to, ab- 
sorption in, harmony with, the life of our children. It seems to me 
that this is more fully expressed by the preposition with. With im- 
plies that both, we and the children, are equally active ; for seems 
to place the burden on us, and renders the children passive recipients 
of our bounty. 

Living ivith our children means entering fully into their simple 
ways of seeing and saying, of feeling and thinking, of willing and 
doing ; it means placing at their service our wider knowledge, our 
greater strength, patiently helping them, guarding and guiding 



90 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

them in their life, in their spontaneous search for light and love ; it 
means joining them in their simple truthfulness, their childish faith 
in man,. and leading them on the basis of this to a higher and 
mightier faith in the immutable laws of nature and of God; it 
means being true with them so that they may reach higher truth ; it 
means loving with them what they love, so that with our help they 
may learn to love the highest good. 

Living with our children implies on our part sympathy with 
childhood, adaptability to childi'en, and knowledge and appreciation 
of child-nature; it implies genuine interest in all that interests 
them, to rejoice and grieve with them in the measure of their joy 
and grief, not merely in the measure of our appreciation of loss or 
gain, of substance or shadow ; it implies seeing ourselves with the 
eyes of a child, hearing ourselves with the ears of a child, judging 
ourselves with the keen intuition of a child, 

Froebel even sees in it the expression of a univei-sal law in its 
application to the lite of humanity ; it means to him the realization 
in consciousness of the organic connection of human life in succes- 
sive generations, "The loving heart," he says elsewhere, "feels it 
in all things, the eager mind sees it in all things as a cosmic 
thought ; the heart and the mind find it in the universe of which 
man himself is only an organic part. Does not the sun proclaim 
it to the earth and all her creatures, all her children ? Do not the 
elements — earth, water, air, light, and heat — proclaim it to each 
other with reference to all earthly things ? Do not, again, in each 
plant all the various parts proclaim this to each other with reference 
to the seed growing in quiet seclusion? In all nature, wherever 
there are life and activity, we find this thought : ' Come, let us live 
with our children' — revealed as a law comprehending all life." — Tr.] 

§ 43, During the period of human development 
heretofore considered, the objects of the external world 
were intimately connected with the word, and through 
the word with the human being. 

This period, therefore, is pre-eminently the period 
of development of the faculty of speech. Therefore, 
in all the child did, it was so indispensable that what- 
ever he did sliould be clearly and definitely designated 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 91 

by the word, connected with the word. Every object, 
every thing became snch, as it were, only through the 
word ; before it had been named, although the child 
might have seemed to see it with the outer eyes, it had 
no existence for the child. The name, as it were, created 
the thing for the child ; hence the name and the thing 
seemed to be one, hke the stem and the marrow, the 
branch and the twig. Yet, in spite of this intimate 
connection of the object with its name, and, through 
this, with man — and this can not be too clearly noticed 
and too carefully followed by the educator — every object 
at this stage of human development is again so entirely 
distinct from all others, each object and each whole, 
too, shows in its parts no organic connection. The des- 
tiny of man and of things, however, tends in a very 
diiferent direction. Not only should man consider each 
thing as an undivided whole, but he should also look 
upon it as organized in its parts for a common pur- 
pose. He is to view it not only as an independent 
whole, an individual unit, but he should also view 
it as a member of a relatively greater and higher 
whole, fulfilling a higher common purpose. Of each 
thing he is to know not only its external conditions 
and associations, but its inner relationships, its in- 
ner unity with what seems to be outwardly distinct 
from it. 

§ 44. Yet the totality of what surrounds man as his 
outer world can not be known by him in its oneness ; 
he can find it only in the knowledge of the peculiar 
nature of each thing, the individuality and personahty 
of each object. 

J^ow, man finds it difficult to recognize a thing — 



92 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

tlie inner nature of a tiling — if it is brought too close 
to him inwardly and outwardly ; and the difficulty is 
increased in the measure in which it approaches him 
too closely, inwardly and outwardly. The misunder- 
standings between parent and child in the family circle 
furnish frequent and speaking proofs for this. For 
this reason man finds it so difiicult to know himself. 
On the other hand, external separation often brings 
about inner unity, inner recognition and appreciation. 
Thus, alas! man knows many foreign things — foreign 
objects, other times, other men — better than his home 
surroundings, his own time, better than himself. If 
man would know himseK truly, he must represent him- 
self externally, must place himself over against him- 
self, as it were. !N^ow, if man in obedience to his des- 
tiny is truly and thoroughly to know each thing of the 
surrounding world ; if, with the aid of each thing, he 
is truly and thoroughly to know himself, the period of 
childhood which unites man and object must be fol- 
lowed by a new period opposed to its predecessor in 
its nature ; a period which separates man and object, 
which outwardly opposes them to one another, but 
unites them inwardly ; a period which brings the ob- 
jects inwardly nearer to man by separating the object 
from its name, considers the object and the word as 
separate, distinct, yet uniting things. This period, 
when language assumes an independent existence, is the 
one that now follows. 

When he learns to separate the name from the 
thing, and the thing from its name, the speech from 
the speaker, and vice versa i when, later on, language 
itself is extemaHzed and materialized in signs and 



MAN IN EARLIEST CHILDHOOD. 93 

writing, and begins to be considered as something 
actually corporeal, man leaves the period of childhood 
and enters the period of boyhood. 

[In an additional paragraph, Froebel indulges in a play on the word 
Knabe, boy, seeking to fix the idea that this is the period when man, by hia 
own strength, consciously appropriates the external. — 2/'.] 



11 



III. 

THE BOYHOOD OF MAK 

§ 45. As the preceding period of human develop- 
ment, the period of childhood^ was predominantly that 
of life for the sake merely of living, for making the in- 
ternal external, so the period of hoyhood is predomi- 
nantly the period for learning^ for making the external 
internal. 

On the part of parents and educators the period of 
infancy demanded chiefly fostering care. During the 
succeeding period of childhood, which looks upon man 
predominantly as a unit, and would lead him to unity, 
tr'aining prevails. The period of boyhood leads man 
chiefly to the consideration of particular relationships 
and individual things, in order to enable him later on 
to discover their inner unity. The inner tendencies 
and relationships of individual things and conditions are 
sought and established (see § 56). 

Now, the consideration and treatment of individual 
and particular things, as such, and in their inner bear- 
ings and relationships, constitute the essential character 
and work of instruction ; therefore, hoyhood is the pe- 
riod in which instruction predominates. 

This instruction is conducted not so much in accord- 
ance with the nature of man as in accordance with the 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 95 

fixed, definite, clear laws that lie in the nature of things, 
and more particularly the laws to which man and things 
are equally subject. It is conducted not so much in the 
method in which the universal, eternal law finds pecul- 
iar expression in man as rather in the method in which 
this law finds peculiar expression in each external thing, 
or simultaneous expression in both man and thing. It 
is conducted, then, in accordance with fixed and definite 
conditions lying outside the human being ; and this im- 
plies knowledge, insight, a conscious and comprehensive 
survey of the field. 

Such a process constitutes the school in the widest 
sense of the word. The school, then, leads man to a 
knowledge of external things, and of their nature in 
accordance with the particular and general laws that lie 
in them ; by the presentation of the external, the indi- 
vidual, the particular, it leads man to a knowledge of 
the internal, of unity, of the universal. Therefore, on 
entering the period of boyhood, man becomes at the 
same time a scJiool-boy. With this period school begins 
for him, be it in the home or out of it, and taught by 
the father, the members of the family, or a teacher. 
School, then, means here by no means the school-room, 
nor school-keeping, but the conscioits communication of 
hnoicledge^ for a definite purpose and in definite inner 
connection (sec § 56). 

§ 46. On the other hand, as it has appeared and con- 
tinues to appear in every aspect, the development and 
cultivation of man, for the attainment of his destiny 
and fulfilhuent of his mission, constitute an unbroken 
whole, steadily and continuously progressing, gradually 
ascending. The feeling of community, awakened in the 



96 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

infant, becomes in the child impulse, inclination ; these 
lead to the formation of the disposition and of the heart, 
and arouse in the boy his intellect and will. 

To give firmness to the will, to quicken it, and to 
make it pure, strong, and enduring, in a life of pure 
humanity, is the chief concern, the main object in the 
guidance of the hoy, in instruction and the school. 

§ 47. Will is the mental activity, ever consciously 
proceeding from a definite point in a definite direction 
toward a definite object, in harmony with the man's 
nature as a whole. 

This statement contains everything, and indicates all 
that parent and educator, teacher and school, should be 
or should give to the boy in example and precept during 
these years. 

The starting-point of all mental activity in the boy 
should be energetic and sound ; the source whence it 
flows, pure, clear, and ever flowing ; the direction, sim- 
ple, definite ; the object, fixed, clear, living and life- 
giving, elevating, worthy of the effort, worthy of the 
destiny and mission of man, worthy of his essential na- 
ture, and tending to develop it and to give it full ex- 
pression. 

In order, therefore, to impart true, genuine firmness 
to the natural will-activity of the boy, all the activities 
of the boy, his entire will, should proceed from and have 
reference to the development, cultivation, and represen- 
tation of the internal. Instruction in example and in 
words, which later on become precept and example, fur- 
nishes the means for this. ]^either example alone nor 
words alone will do : not example alone, for it is par- 
ticular and special, and the word is needed to give to 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 07 

•l 

particular individual examples universal applicability ; 
not words alone, for example is needed to interpret and 
explain the word which is general, spiritual, and of 
many meanings. 

But instruction and example alone and in themselves 
are not sufficient : they nnist meet a good, pure heart, 
and this is an outcome of proper educational influences 
in childhood. 

Therefore, the cultivation of boyhood rests wholly 
on that of childhood ; therefore, activity and firmness 
of the will rest upon activity and firmness of the feel- 
ings and of the heart. Where the latter are lacking, 
the former will scarcely be attainable. 

§ 48. The pure and good heart and the thoughtful 
and gentle sympathies of the child constitute in them- 
selves a unity. Hence their utterance is an intense 
longing to find for the many externally separate things 
that surround the child an inner necessary unity, such as 
he feels in himself, a quickening spiritual bond and law 
—a bond and law by which these things may gain at least 
the significance of hfe and significance for life. 

Now, it is true, for the period of childhood this long- 
ing is gratified in the complete enjoyment of living 
play. By this, in the period of childhood, man is placed 
in the center of all things, and all things are seen only 
in relation to himself, to his life. Yet above all it is 
family-life that gratifies this longing fully. Family-life 
alone secures the development and cultivation of a good 
heart and of a thoughtful, gentle disposition in their 
full intensity and vigor, so incomparably important for 
every period of growth, nay, for the whole life of man 
(see § 86). 



98 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Now, iiiasmncli as that desire for unity is the 
basis of all genuinely human development and cul- 
tivation, and inasmuch as every separating tendency 
hinders pure human development, man, even in child- 
hood, refers everything to family-life, beholds every- 
thing through family-life, as is shown so clearly in 
childhood. 

For the child, therefore, the life of his own family 
becomes itself an external thing and a type of life. 
Parents should consider this fact : that the child in his 
own life would fain represent this type in the purity, 
harmony, and efficiency in which he sees it. 

[On the great value of family-life, see also § 86. The family is 
to Froebel the type of unified human life. In it the triune essence of 
humanity — light, love, and life — is individualized in father, mother, 
and child ; light predominating in the father, love in the mother, life 
in the child. Of these, love is the center and fulcrum, as the mother, 
too, is at the center and fulcrum of the family. Light may secure 
individual existence and furnish insight, but love alone can make 
life worth living, love alone can lead to the subordination of the whole 
being to a heart turned upward, taught lovingly and patiently — as 
mothers teach — to yearn for the Infinite. This is in full agreement 
with his primary principle of life-unity ; for the emotional element 
of our being, the heart, is nearest the divinity within us. Head and 
hand are but the instruments of the heart from which they receive 
their direction. — JV-.] 

§ 49. ISTow, in the family, the child sees the parents 
and other members of the family at work, producing, 
doing something ; the same he notices with adults gen- 
erally in life and in those active interests with which his 
family is concerned. Consequently the child, at this 
stage, would like himself to represent what he sees. He 
would like to represent — and tries to do so — all he sees 
his parents and other adults do and represent in work, 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 99 

all which he thus sees represented by human power and 
human skill. 

What formerly the child did only for the sake of the 
activity, the boy now does fm^ the sake of the result or 
product of his activity ; the child's instinct of activity 
has in the boy become a formative instinct, and this 
occupies the whole outward life, the outward manifes- 
tation of boy-life at this period (see § 23). 

How cheerfully and eagerly the boy and the girl at 
this age begin to share the work of father and mother — 
not the easy work, indeed, but the difficult work, calling 
for strength and labor ! 

Be cautious, be careful and thoughtful, at this point, 
O parents ! You can here at one blow destroy, at least 
for a long time, the instinct of formative activity in 
yoar children, if you repel their help as childish, use- 
less, of little avail, or even as a hindrance. 

Do not let the urgency of your business tempt you 
to say, " Go away, you only hinder me," or, " I am in a 
hurry, leave me alone." 

Boys and girls are thus disturbed in their inner ac- 
tivity ; they see themselves shut out from the whole 
with which they felt themselves so intimately united ; 
their inner power is aroused, but they see themselves 
alone, and do not know what to do with the aroused 
power; nay, it becomes a burden to them, and they 
become fretful and indolent. 

After a third rebuff of this character, scarcely any 
child will again propose to help and share the work, 
lie becomes fretful and dull, even when he sees his 
parents engaged in work which he might share. Who 
has not later on heard the parents of such children com- 



100 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

plain : " When tliis boy (or girl) was small and could 
not help, he busied himself about everything; now 
that he knows something and is strong enough, he does 
not want to do anytliing " ? 

Just so! In accordance with the nature of the 
spiritual principle working in man, as yet unconscious- 
ly and unrecognized, the first utterances of the instinct 
of activity, of the formative instinct, come without any 
effort on his part, and even against his will, as indeed 
happens to him even in later life. Now, if this inner 
impulse to formative activity in man, particularly in 
early youth, is met by an external obstacle, especially 
by one like the will of parents, which can not be set 
aside, the inner power itself is weakened, and a fre- 
quent repetition of this forces it back into complete 
inactivity. 

When the child has been thus disturbed, he does 
not consider why his help was permissible at one time 
and not at another time ; he chooses that which is more 
agreeable to his physical nature. He abstains from the 
activity the more readily and willingly, because the will 
of his parents seems to make it his duty to do so. 

The child becomes indolent — i. e., spirit and life 
cease to animate bis physical being ; the latter becomes 
a mere body to him, which now he must carry as a bur- 
den ; whereas, formerly, the sense of power led him to 
feel his body, not as such, but as the mighty source of 
the powder that filled him. 

Therefore, O parents, if you w^ish your children 
eventually to help you, foster in them at an early pe- 
riod the instinct of activity, and especially the forma- 
tive instinct of boyhood, even though it should involve 



TUE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 101 

some effort, some sacrifice on your part. It will re- 
pay a hundred-fold, as does good wheat planted in 
good soil. 

[Here, as elsewhere, Froebel places himself broadly on the 
thought that in the order of development, the lower is the neces- 
sary condition of the higher, and owes its value to the higher. 
Later on, this will be shown in his presentation of the development 
of conscious spontaneity from the mere energy as seen in the crys- 
tal. For the same reason he asks us here to foster this, as yet com- 
paratively simple instinct, of more or less purposeless activity, which 
appears almost like a I'efliex effect of the impressions that crowd in 
upon the child. He sees in this activity the germ and promise of 
higher developments, of the highest differentiations of conscious 
purpose. Similarly, he would lead the child from apparently pur- 
poseless and frivolous play to the teeming fields of earnest labor ; 
not by contemning play but by fostering it, and by directing it in 
its legitimate channels. — Tr.] 

Strengthen and develop this instinct ; give to your 
child the highest he now needs ; permit him to add his 
power to your work — specially dear to him because it 
is yours— so that he may not only gain the consciousness 
of his power, but learn to appreciate its limitations. 

If in his former activity (in childhood) he imitated 
phases of domestic life, in his present activity (in boy- 
hood) he shares the work of the house — lifting, pulHng, 
carrying, digging, sj^litting. The boy wants to try his 
strength in everything, so that his body may grow 
strong, that his strength may increase, and that he may 
know its measure. The son accompanies his father 
everywhere — to the field and to the garden, to the shop 
and to the counting-house, to the forest and to the 
meadow ; in the care of domestic animals and in the 
making of small articles of household furniture ; in the 
splitting, sawing, and the piling up of wood ; in all the 



102 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

work his father's trade or calling involves. Question 
upon question comes from the lips of the boy thirsting 
for knowledge— How? Why? When? What for? Of 
what? — and every somewhat satisfactory answer opens 
a new world to the boy. Language comes to him every- 
where, in its independence, as a mediator.* 

At this age the healthy boy, brought up simply and 
naturally, never evades an obstacle, a difficulty ; nay, he 
seeks it, and overcomes it. 

" Let it lie," the vigorous youngster exclaims to his 
father, who is about to roll a piece of wood out of the 
boy's way — " let it lie, I can get over it." With diffi- 
culty, indeed, the boy gets over it the first time ; but he 
has accomplished the feat by his own strength. Strength 
and courage have grown in him. He returns, gets over 
the obstacle a second time, and soon he learns to clear 
it easily. If activity brought joy to the child, work now 
gives delight to the boy. Hence, the daring and vent- 
uresome feats of boyhood ; the explorations of caves 
and ravines ; the climbing of trees and mountains ; 
the searching of the heights and depths ; the roaming 
through fields and forests. 

The most difficult thing seems easy, the most daring 
thing seems without danger to him, for his promptings 
come from his innermost heart and will. 

However, it is not alone the desire to try and use 
his power that prompts the boy at this age to seek ad- 
venture high and low, far and wide ; it is particularly 
the peculiarity and need of his unfolding innermost 
life, the desire to control the diversity of things, to see 

* As a mediator between him and the outer world, bringing him the 
knowledge for which he thirsts. — Tr. 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 103 

individual things in their connection with a whole, es- 
pecially to bring near that which is remote, to compre- 
hend (the outer world) in its extent, its diversity, its 
integrity ; it is the desire to extend his 6C023e step 
by step. 

To climb a new tree means to the boy the discovery 
of a new world. The outlook from above shows every- 
tliing so different from the ordinary cramped and dis- 
torted side-view. How clear and distinct everything lies 
beneath him ! Could we but recall the feelings that 
filled our hearts and souls in boyhood, when the narrow 
limits of our surroundings sank before our extended 
view, we should not cry out to him : " Come down ; you 
might fall!" 

Not by walking and standing alone, do we learn to 
walk and stand. Not by walking and standing, sitting 
and crawling, do we learn to keep from falling ; the 
survey of our surroundings, too, is needed. And how 
different does the commonest thing look when viewed 
from above ! 

[More clearly than in any other passage, Froebel here indicates 
his position with reference to the much-abused maxim, " Learn to do 
by doing," which has sometimes been attributed to him by well-mean- 
ing but ill-informed persons. Froebel, it is true, would have skill in 
action imparted by practice ; but he never makes skill as such an 
object of educational activity, deeming it of value only when it 
serves insight, which can come only from seeing. He would, indeed, 
have doing, but always as the expression of thought and feeling, 
which, again, are based on previous seeing. In this respect Froebel 
is a more faithful follower of Comenius than those over-zealous per- 
sons who seem to have caught nothing from the great Moravian 
teacher than this maxim, " Learn to do by doing." Comenius him- 
self applies the saying only to the arts of the school — such as writ- 
ing, speaking (or reading), singing, and ciphering — and treats of it 



104 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

in a chapter subordinate to the " Method of the Sciences " which, as 
he says, need " the eye, the object, and light." 

This is not vitiated by the fact that " every science is evolved out 
of its corresponding art." An art is a complex empirical organism, 
involving the co-operation of more or less extended systems of vari- 
ously inter-related seeing and doing. The corresponding science 
grows in the measure in which we learn to see it as a living, ration- 
ally constituted whole. — J?-.] 

Should it not be onr duty and our work to secure 
for our boy at an early period tbis elevation of mind 
and heart ? Shall he not from a lofty standpoint clear 
his understanding, and expand heart and mind by ex- 
tending his view into the distance ? 

" But," you object, " the boy will become reckless ; 
I am never free from anxiety about him." The boy, 
who from early youth has been led quietly and with 
reference to the steady development of his power, will 
never task his strength much more than his previous 
trials justify. Thus he passes through all these dangers 
like one led by a good genius ; while another boy, who 
knows neither his strength nor the difficulty of his task, 
attempts to do what his little skill and strength do 
not warrant him to undertake, and thus incurs danger 
where even the most timid would deem himself safe. 

Indeed, the most really venturesome boys are always 
those who, without steadily practiced strength, are 
taken with a sudden fit of power, and, at the same 
time, are offered an opportunity for its use. They will 
then, particularly if others observe them, easily get into 
danger. 

Not less significant and developing is the boy's in- 
clination to descend into caves and ravines, to ramble in 
the shady grove and in the dark forest. It is the de- 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 105 

sire to seek and find the new, to see and discover the 
hidden ; the desire to bring to hglit and to appropriate 
that which lies concealed in darkness and shadow. 

From these rambles the boy returns with rich treas- 
ures of unknown stones and plants, of animals — worms, 
beetles, spiders, and hzards — that dwell in darkness 
and concealment. " What is this ? what is its name ? " 
etc., are the questions to be answered ; and every new 
word enriches his world, and throws light upon his sur- 
roundings. Beware of greeting the boy with the excla- 
mation, " Fie, throw that down ; that is horrid ! " or 
" Drop that, it will bite you ! " If the child obeys, he 
drops and throws away also a considerable portion of 
his power ; and, when later on you say to him, or when 
common sense and reason tell him, " See, this is a harm- 
less creature," he will avert his eyes, and a great amount 
of knowledge will be lost at the same time. On the 
other hand, the little boy, scarcely six years old, may 
tell you about the structure of the beetle and about the 
peculiar uses it makes of its limbs ; things that hereto- 
fore had remained unnoticed by you. It may be well 
to caution him about taking hold of unknown creatures, 
but not in such a way as to make him timid. 

However, the genuine, vigorous boy at this age is by 
no means always on the heights or in the depths. The 
same desire that urges him to seek knowledge and in- 
sight on the mountains and in the valleys, attracts and 
holds him also to the plain. Here he makes a little 
garden under the hedge near the fence of his father's 
garden ; there he represents the course of the river in 
his furrow and in his ditch ; there he studies the effects 
of the fall or pressure of water upon his little water- 
12 



lOG THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

wheel ; here he observes a small piece of wood or a bit 
of light bark floating on a little pond he has dammed 
up. He is particularly fond of occupying himself with 
the clear, living, mobile water in which the boy who 
seeks self-knowledge beholds the image of his soul as in 
a mirror. For the same reason he is fond of busying 
himself with plastic substances (sand, clay), which to 
him are, as it were, a life-element. For he seeks now, 
impelled by the previously acquired sense of his power, 
to master the material, to control it. Everything must 
submit to his formative instinct ; there in the heap of 
earth he builds a cellar, a cavern, and on it a garden, a 
bench. 

Boards, branches of trees, laths, and poles are made 
into a hut, a house ; the deep, fresh snow is fashioned 
into the walls and ramparts of a fortress ; and the rough 
stones on the hill are heaped together to make a castle : 
all this is done in the spirit and tendency of boyhood, 
in the spirit and tendency of unification and assimila- 
tion (see § 94). 

There two boys, scarcely seven years old, with 
their arms around each other, walk across the yard in 
friendly, intimate consultation ; they are on the way to 
get tools in order to build in a dark grove, on the hill 
behind the house, a hut with a table and bench, an out- 
look from which their eyes can take in the whole valley 
at one glance, as a beautifully organized whole. 

This unifying and, at the same time, self-reliant 
spiiit unites all things that come near and seem adapt- 
ed to its nature, its wants, and inner status — unites 
stones and human beings in a common purpose, a com- 
mon endeavor. And thus each one soon forms for him- 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 107 

seK his own world ; for the feeling of his own power 
implies and soon demands also the possession of his 
own space and his own material belonging exclusive- 
Ij to him. 

Be his realm, his province, his land, as it were, a 
corner of the court-yard, of the honse, or of the room ; 
be it the space of a box, of a chest, or of a closet ; be it 
a grotto, a hut, or a garden — the human being, the boy 
at this age, needs an external point, if possible, chosen 
and prepared by himself, to which he refers all his ac- 
tivity. 

When the room to be filled is extensive, when the 
realm to be controlled is large, when the whole to be 
represented or produced is complex, then brotherly 
union of similar-minded persons is in place. And 
when similar-minded persons meet in similar endeavor, 
and their hearts find each other, then either the work 
already begun is extended, or the work begun by one 
becomes a common work. 

[In this and the following passages Froebel foreshadows the 
kindergarten, which he meant to be par excellence the social nursery 
of the child — a place where the children's faculties might be directed 
without violence into social channels. In the educational practice 
of home and school this phase of child-nature is almost wholly ig- 
nored, and not unfrequently suppressed as detrimental to the child's 
individual welfare. To the mother the child is her child, to the 
school it is a child. 

Perhaps this is well, so far as the mother is concerned, inasmuch 
as it is her special province to nurse the earliest germ of individual 
development which underlies the future social worth of the child, 
and inasmuch as the home rarely offers suitable conditions to train 
the child for life in a society of equals. With the school, however, 
this is different; here all the elements of a society of equals are 
given, opportunities for common enterprise are so p^bundant that 
isolation becomes a matter of great difficulty. Here, then, it would 



108 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

be easy to establish an atmosphere of universal good-will ; to de- 
velop and foster habits of sympathy, gratitude, and helpfulness; 
to have the pupil grow surely and steadily into ever fuller appre- 
ciation of the value of social effort to himself, and of his own value 
to society ; to fill the soul of each one brimful of a generous self- 
assertion and a rational self-sacrifice that shrink from no duty and 
yield no right. 

In the kindergarten Froebel has provided an ideal society of 
equals which the child may enter at the very moment when his social 
instincts enter consciousness. The school would gain in every phase 
of its work, could it connect itself organically with the kindergarten 
and become an institution where the future men and women might 
learn the arts of co-ordination and subordination, of creative and 
directive leadership, of intelligent and cheerful helpfulness in the 
attainment of common purposes. Thus the school would strengthen 
the pupil's individuality, invigorate it through exercise, lead it to 
ever greater self -consciousness in practice, elevate his drift and char- 
acter by giving him a tendency to seek worthy objects for a generous 
activity, enable him to become a leader in matters in which he has 
the stuff for leadership, and a contented follower in all affairs in 
which his powers assign him a humbler station. — Tr.] 

"Would you, O parents and educators, see in minia- 
ture, in a picture, as it were, what I liave here indicated, 
look into this education-room * of eight boys, seven to 
eight years old. 

On the large table of the much-used room there 
stands a chest of building-blocks, in the form of bricks, 
each side about one sixth of the size of actual bricks, 
the finest and most variable material that can be offered 
a boy for purposes of representation. Sand or sawdust, 
too, have found their way into the room, and fine, green 
moss has been brought in abundantly from the last walk 
in the beautiful pine-forest. 

* A word formed in imitation of the word school-room, to indicate 
the wider scope of the place. — Tr. 



THE BOYUOOD OF MAN. 109 

[This is the first foreshadowing of what has since in the kinder- 
garten been developed into group-ivork. In group-worlt several chil- 
dren, or the whole little society, unite their skill and energy in the use 
of the gifts and occupations for a common purpose. This purpose may 
lie within the limits of a single gift or occupation, or it may require a 
variety of these. A few instances will illustrate this : The group- 
work remains within the limits of a single gift or occupation when 
the children use the folding papers as paving-stones in building a 
sidewalk, when they use their third gifts in representing a farm-yard 
with its buildings and implements, when they combine to build a 
street railroad with the help of the fourth gift, when two children 
fold a dwelling-house from a large sheet of cardboard, while the 
others are busy folding from smaller sheets of paper all kinds of fur- 
niture — tables, chairs, sofas, beds, writing-desk, picture-frames, look- 
ing-glasses, etc. 

Here the individuality of each child has full play, and yet is ex- 
ercised in the service of a common purpose, subordinating itself to 
the claims and needs of the little society with no loss and much 
gain. This becomes still more evident when a variety of gifts and 
occupations are brought into play. Here is an instance: In one 
corner of a suitably prepared " sand-table " a few handfuls of sand 
are spread to receive yellow folding-papers, cut and rolled so as to 
represent a wheat-field; behind this a few children build a small 
village, from the fifth and sixth gifts ; others erect near the center 
of the table a large mill, with the necessary out-houses ; still others 
build a road, a brook, a bridge, with suitable material ; a few boys 
are busy making bags of flour out of clay ; two girls are constructing 
a wagon out of sticks, peas, and interlacing material. Thus all unite 
to express what they know about the history of wheat. 

In the primary school it becomes desirable to develop these social 
tendencies methodically and in harmony with individual develop- 
ment. This is accomplished with the help of my group-table, first 
systematically used at La Porte (Indiana). The table is similar to 
the ordinary kindergarten-table, but in the shape of a square or 
hexagon, and of a size to accommodate four or six children, one 
at each side of the table. When the children work at this table 
with any given material, at respectively equal distances from the 
center or margin, the work will be strictly symmetrical and definitely 
related to the sides and angles, diagonals and diameters of the table- 
top. This symmetrical arrangement serves as a powerful connecting 



110 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

link among the individual workers. They soon learn to contribute 
tlieir material and energy to the execution of social purposes with 
little or no thought of individual gain, and still less of individual 
supremacy. — Tr.] 

It is intermission, and eacli one lias begun his own 
work. There in a corner stands a chapel quite concealed, 
a cross and an altar indicate the meaning of the struct- 
ure : it is the creation of a small, quiet boj. There on a 
chair two boys have united to undertake a considerably 
greater piece of work : it is a building of several stories, 
and probably represents a castle, which looks down 
from the chair as from a mountain into a valley. But 
what has quietly grown under the hands of that boy at 
the table ? It is a green hill crowned by an old, ruined 
castle. The others, in the mean while, have erected a 
village in the j)lain below. 

Now, each one has finished his work ; each one ex- 
amines it and that of the others. In each one rises the 
thought and the wish to unite all in a connected whole ; 
and scarcely has this wish been recognized as a com- 
mon one, when they establish common roads from the 
village to the ruin, from this to the castle, and from the 
castle to the chapel, and between them lie brooks and 
meadows. 

At another time some had fasliioned a landscape 
from clay, another had constructed from pasteboard a 
house with doors and windows, and a third had made 
miniature ships from nut-shells. Each one examines his 
work : it is good, but it stands alone. He sees his neigh- 
bor's work : it would gain so much by being united. 
And immediately the house, as a castle, crowns the hill, 
and the tiny ship floats on the small artificial lake, and, 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. HI 

to the deliglit of all, the youngest brings his shepherd 
and sheep to graze between the mountain and the lake. 
Now, they all stand and behold with pleasure and satis- 
faction the work of their own hands. 

Again, what busy tumult among those older boys at 
the brook down yonder ! They have built canals and 
sluices, bridges and sea-ports, dams and mills, each one 
intent only on his own work. Now the water is to be 
used to carry vessels from the higher to the lower 
level ; but at each step of progress one trespasses on the 
limits of another realm, and each one equally claims his 
right as lord and maker, while he recognizes the claims 
of the others. What can serve here to mediate ? Only 
treaties^ and, like states, they bind themselves by strict 
treaties. Who can point out the varied significance, the 
varied results of these plays of boys ? Two things, in- 
deed, are clearly established. They proceed from one 
and the same spirit of boyhood ; and the playing boys 
made good pupils, intelhgent, and quick to learn, quick 
to see and to do, diligent and full of zeal, reliable in 
thought and feeling, efficient and vigorous. Those 
who played thus are efficient men, or will become so. 

Particularly helpful at this period of life is the cul- 
tivation of gardens o"WTied by the boys, and their culti- 
vation for the sake of the produce. For here man for 
the first time sees his work bearing fruit in an organic 
way, determined by logical necessity and law — fruit 
which, although subject to the inner laws of natural de- 
velopment, depends in many ways upon his work and 
upon the character of his work ! 

This work fully com])letes, in many ways, the boy's 
life with nature, and satisfies his curiosity concerning 



112 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

her workings, his desire to know her — a desire that urges 
him again and again to give thoughtful and continuous 
attention and observation to plants and flowers. J^ature, 
too, seems to favor these promptings and occupations, 
and to reward them with abundant success ; for a glance 
upon these gardens of children reveals at once the fact 
that, if a boy has given his plants only moderate care 
and attention, they thrive remarkably well ; and that 
the plants and flowers of the boys who attend to them 
with special care live in sympathy with these boys, 
as it were, and are particularly healthy and luxuriant. 

If the boy can not have the care of a little garden of 
his own, he should have at least a few plants in boxes 
or pots, filled not with rare and deHcate or double 
plants, but with common plants that have an abundance 
of leaves and blossoms, and thrive easily. 

The child, or boy, who has guarded and cared for 
another living thing, although it be of a lower order, 
will be led more easily to guard and foster his own life. 
At the same time the care of plants will gratify his 
desire to observe other living things, such as beetles, 
butterflies, and birds, for these seek the vicinity of 
plants. 

By no means, however, do all the plays and occupa- 
tions of boys at this age aim at the representation of 
things ; on the contrary, many are predominantly mere 
practice and trials of strength, and many aim simply 
at display of strength. ^Nevertheless, the play of this 
period always bears a peculiar character, corresponding 
with its inner life. For, while during the previous pe- 
riod of childhood the aim of play consisted simply in 
activity as such, its aim lies now in a definite, conscious 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 113 

purpose j it seeks representation as such, or the thing 
to be represented in tlie activity. This character is 
developed more and more in the free boyish games as 
the boys advance in age. This is observable even with 
all games of physical movement, with games of running, 
boxing, wrestling, with ball-games, racing, games of 
hunting, of war, etc. (see § 30). 

It is the sense of sure and reliable power, the sense 
of its increase, both as an individual and as a member 
of the group, that fills the boy with all-pervading, ju- 
bilant joy during these games. It is by no means, how- 
ever, only the physical power that is fed and strength- 
ened in these games ; intellectual and moral power, too, 
is definitely and steadily gained and brought under 
control. Indeed, a comparison of the relative gains 
of the mental and of the phj^sical phases would scarce- 
ly yield the palm to the body. Justice, moderation, 
self-control, truthfulness, loyalty, brotherly love, and, 
again, strict impartiality — who, when he approaches a 
group of boys engaged in such games, could fail to 
catch the fragrance of these delicious blossomings of the 
heart and mind, and of a firm will ; not to mention the 
beautiful, thougli perhaps less fragrant, blossoms of com-- 
age, perseverance, resolution, prudence, together with 
the severe elimination of indolent indulgence ? Who- 
ever would inhale a fresh, quickening breath of life 
should visit the play-grounds of such boys. Flowers of 
still more delicate fragrance bloom, and the spirited, 
free boy spares them as the spirited horse spares the 
child that lies in the path of his dashing career. These 
delicate blossoms, resembling the violet and anemone, 
are forbearance, consideration, sympathy, and encourage- 



114 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

ment for the weaker, younger, and more delicate ; fair- 
ness to those who are as yet unfamiliar with the game. 

Would that all who, in the education of boys, bare- 
ly tolerate j)lay-ground8, might consider these things ! 
There are, indeed, many harsh words and many rude 
deeds, but the sense of power must needs precede its 
cultivation. Keen, clear, and penetrating are the boy's 
eye and sense in the recognition of inner meaning ; keen 
and decided, therefore, even harsh and severe, is his 
judgment of those who are his equals, or who claim 
equality with him in judgment and power. 

Every town should have its own common play- 
ground for the boys. Glorious results would come from 
this for the entire community. For at this jDcriod 
games, whenever it is feasible, are common, and thus 
develop the feeling and desire for community, and the 
laws and requirements of community. 

The boy tries to see himself in his companions, to 
feel himself in them, to weigh and measure himself by 
them, to know and find himself with their help. Thus, 
the games directly influence and educate the boy for 
life, awaken and cultivate many civil and moral virtues. 

Yet the seasons and surroundings do not always 
permit the boy, free from the duties of home and 
school, to exercise and develop his powers in the open 
air, and at no time should boys be unoccupied. There- 
fore other kinds of external occupations and representa- 
tions of in-door life constitute at this age an essential 
part of the activity and guidance of boys, and are very 
important to him. This is particularly the case with 
so-called mechanical pursuits, such as paper and paste- 
board work, modeling, etc, (see § 22). 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 115 

However, there is in man still another wish — a long- 
ing, a desire of the soul that can not be gratified by ex- 
ternal occupations, by external activity. All that exter- 
nal occupation and activity can give man at this period 
does not by any means sufiice him, does not meet the 
demands and needs of an education adequate to his 
nature : the present, however full and rich, can not 
suffice him. 

The existence of the present teaches him the exist- 
ence of the past. This, too, which was before he was, 
he would know. He would know the reason, the past 
cause of M'hat now is. Indeed, he would that what has 
remained over from past time should reveal to him the 
reason of its existence, should tell him of that old time. 

Who fails to remember the keen desire that filled 
his heart, more particularly in the period of his later 
years of boyhood, when he beheld old walls and towers, 
ruins, old buildings, monuments, and columns on the 
hills and on the road-side — to hear others give accounts 
of these things, of their time and their causes ? Nay, 
who has not at such times noticed in himseK a vague, 
undefiuable feeling that at some time these things them- 
selves could and would give an account of themselves 
and their time ? 

And who, judging by his experience and knowl- 
edge, can furnish him these accounts, if not those who 
lived before he did — his elders ? That these might tell 
him, is his earnest wish ; and thus there is developed in 
the boy at this age the desire and craving for tales, for 
legends, for all kinds of stories, and later on for histori- 
cal accounts. This craving, especially in its first appear- 
ance, is very intense ; so much so, that, when others fail 



116 THE EDUCATION OF MAN, 

to gratify it, tlie boys seek to gratify it themselves, 
particularly on days of leisure, and in times when the 
regular employments of the day are ended. 

Who has not been filled with respect when noticing 
a group of boys of this age gathered around one whom 
a good memory and a lively imagination have designated 
as their story-teller ? How attentively they all listen when 
his story gratifies their favorite wish and confirms their 
judgment by its plot and incidents — in short, when it 
brings before them words and deeds in harmony with 
their own inner thoughts and feelings ! 

However, even the present in which the boy lives 
still contains much that at this period of development 
he can not interpret, and yet would like to interpret ; 
much that seems to him dumb, and which he would fain 
have speak ; much that appears to him dead, and which 
he longs to see alive and active. 

He wishes that others might furnish him this inter- 
pretation, and impart a language to the silent objects ; 
that they might put into clear words the inner Kving 
connection of all things which his mind vaguely ap- 
prehends. 

Yet these others frequently are quite unable to grat- 
ify the boy's wish, and thus there is developed in him 
the intense desire for fables and fairy-tales which impart 
language and reason to speechless things — ^the one with- 
in, and the other beyond the limits of human relations 
and human, earthly phenomena of life. 

Surely all must have noticed this, if they have given 
more than superficial attention to the life of boys at 
this age. Similarly, they must have noticed that — if 
here, too, the boy's desire is not or can not be gratified 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. HY 

by his attendants — he will spontaneously hit upon the 
invention and presentation of fairy-tales and fables, and 
either work them out in his own mind alone or enter- 
tain his companions with them. 

[One of the most diflficult arts of the kindergartner is the telling 
of stories ; and it is, perhaps, equally difficult to give detailed direc- 
tions concerning the practice of this art. Yet there are a few plain 
requirements which it may be well to mention here. In the first 
place, the story should be simple in plot and form ; the events and 
words should be few and marked, and within the child's comprehen- 
sion. Involved constructions, long words, unmeaning sentimentali- 
ties, and confusing moralizings should be omitted. 

Again, the plot should be true — i. e., the events should be possible, 
and should have some logical connection. All that is hideous or 
vicious should be kept out. Cruel or wanton punishments or acci- 
dents and ludicrous situations should be avoided: they blunt or 
pervert the moral sense of the child. The story should take the 
child into an ideal world of truth and beauty and goodness, where he 
may always rest from the unpleasant experiences and gather strength 
from the struggle with their opposites in life. Here he sliould learn 
to love truth and beauty and goodness, so that when their opposites 
do come these may find no points of attraction in the child's soul. 
The stories, too, should be such that the child may easily imitate 
them by drawing on his slender stock of experiences, and by enliven- 
ing these with his ideals of whatever is lovely and good. — Tr.] 

These fairy-tales and stories will then very clearly 
reveal to the observer what is going on in the innermost 
mind of the boy, though doubtless the latter may not be 
himself conscious of it (see § 9Y). Whatever he feels in 
his heart, whatever hves in his soul, whatever he can not 
express in his own words, he would fain have others 
express. Whatever his mind vaguely apprehends, what- 
ever fills his heart with joy and pleasure, as the sense of 
power and the feeling of spring, he would fain express 
in words; but he feels himself unable to do so. He 
13 



118 THE EDUCATION OF MAN, 

seeks for words, and, as lie can not yet find them in 
himself, he rejoices intensely to hear them from others, 
especially in song. 

How the serene, happy boy of this age rejoices in 
song ! He feels, as it were, a new, true life in song. 
It is the sense of growing power that in his wander- 
ings from the valley to the hill, and from hill to hill, 
pours forth the joyous song from his throat. 

The intense desire to understand himseK holds the 
boy ; therefore he seeks the clear, pure, living water in 
lake or brook. In his play he ever returns to this, be- 
cause in it he sees himself, the image of his soul, and 
because in and through it he hopes to get a knowledge 
of his spiritual nature. 

What the water in brook and lake, what the pure air 
and wide expanse on the mountain-top are to the boy's 
soul, that, too, play is to him — a mirror of the life-strug- 
gles that await him ; therefore, in order to gain strength 
for these, boys and youth seek obstacles, difficulties, and 
strife in their play. 

The desire to gain a knowledge of the past and of 
nature attracts the boy again and again to flowers and to 
old walls and ruined vaults. The desire to express what 
fills his innermost heart and mind urges him to sing. 
Thus it is certain that very many of the external phe- 
nomena, very many things in the boy's conduct and ac- 
tions, have an inner, spiritual significance ; that they 
indicate his inner, spiritual life and tendency, and are, 
therefore, symbolic. 

How salutary would it be for parents and child, 
for their present and future, if parents believed in this 
symbolism of childhood and boyhood, if they heeded 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 119 

the child's life in reference to this ! It would unite 
parents and children bj a new living tie ; it would es- 
tablish a new hving connection between their present 
and their future life. 

§ 50. Such is pure boy-life at this period. From this 
description of inner and outer pure boy-life and child- 
life, which fortunately for man we still meet occasion- 
ally — where natural views of education prevail in actual 
life possibly in greater beauty, richness, and intensity 
than has been represented — from this description let us 
cast a glance upon boy-life and child-life as we generally 
meet it more or less pronounced in actual life. Let us 
look particularly upon the Kfe of the child and boy in 
his filial, brotherly, domestic relations, in his activity 
and work as a pupil and companion. We shall be com- 
pelled to confess frankly that many things are very dif- 
ferent : that we meet stubbornness, obstinacy, supine- 
ness, mental and physical indolence, sensuality, vanity 
and self-conceit, dogmatism and despotism, an unbroth- 
erly and unfilial spirit, emptiness and superficiality, aver- 
sion to work and even to play, disobedience and ungod- 
liness, etc. 

"When we look for the sources of these and many 
other undeniable shortcomings in the life of children 
and boys, we are confronted ultimately by a double 
reason : in the first place, the complete neglect of the 
development of certain sides of full human life ; sec- 
ondly, the early faulty tendency — the early faulty and 
unnatural steps of development and distortion of the 
originally good human powers and tendencies by arbi- 
trary and willful interference with the original orderly 
and logical course of human development. 



120 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

§ 51. For, surely, tlie nature of man is in itself good, 
and surely there are in man qualities and tendencies in 
themselves good. Man is by no means naturally bad, 
nor has he originally bad or evil qualities and tenden- 
cies ; unless, indeed, we consider as naturally evil, bad, 
and faulty the finite, the material, the transitory, the 
physical as such, and the logical consequences of the 
existence of these phenomena, namely, that man must 
have the possibility of failure in order to be good and 
vii'tuous, that he must be able to make himself a slave 
in order to be truly free. Yet these things are the neces- 
sary concomitants of the manifestation of the eternal 
in the temporal, of unity in diversity, and follow neces- 
sarily from man's destiny to become a conscious, reason- 
able, and free being. 

Whoever is to do with self-determination and free- 
dom that which is divine and eternal, must be at liberty 
to do that which is earthly and finite. 

Since God wished to reveal himself in the finite, this 
could be done only with finite and transitory material. 

Whoever, then, considers that which is finite, mate- 
rial, physical, as in itself bad, thereby expresses con- 
tempt for creation, nature, as such — ^nay, he actually 
blasphemes God. 

Similarly, it is treason to human nature and to man 
to consider him in his essence as neither good nor bad 
or evil ; how much more, then, is it treason to consider 
him in his nature as essentially bad or evil ! 

Man thereby denies God in humanity, for he denies 
His work, and hence the ways and means of truly 
knowing God, and thus puts into the world falsehood, 
the only source of all evil. 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 121 

§ 52. If there is anything absolutely evil, it is this, 
for it is the origin of all evil. But falsehood has no 
real existence ; it is already anniliilated ; and, as in its 
very nature it is annihilated, it must also be annihilated 
in its outward manifestations. For man has been created 
neither with nor for falsehood, but with and for truth. 
Again, man does not create falsehood out of himself, 
out of his own nature ; he can and does create it only 
because God has created him for truth. Man creates 
falsehood by failing to recognize this fact for himself, 
or to lead others to recognize it. Man creates false- 
hood by hindering the recognition of this fact as pro- 
ceeding from the pure fount of his being in and 
through himself. 

Man, as an earthly phenomenon, is destined to have 
body and soul developed consciously and rationally, with 
a certain degree of symmetry and harmony. If man 
could only reach a clear and distinct knowledge of his 
nature — if, after having attained such knowledge wholly 
or in part, he were not so paralyzed in strength and will 
by evil habit and infirmity — he would immediately throw 
off all shortcomings, and even the manifestation of all 
evil that is in him and done by him — that clings to him, 
as it were, and hides him like a disguise. All these 
shortcomings and wrong-doings have their origin merely 
in the disturbed relations of these two sides of man : 
his nature, that which he has grown to be ; and his 
essence, his innermost being. Therefore, a suppressed 
or perverted good quality — a good tendency, only re- 
pressed, misunderstood, or misguided — lies originally 
at the bottom of every shortcoming in man. Hence 
the only and infallible remedy for counteracting any 



122 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

shortcoming and even wickedness is to find the origi- 
nally good source, the originally good side of the human 
being that has been repressed, disturbed, or misled into 
the shortcoming, and then to foster, build up, and prop- 
erly guide this good side. Thus the shortcoming will 
at last disappear, although it may involve a hard strug- 
gle against hdbit^ hut not against original depravity in 
man ; and this is accomplished so much the more rapidly 
and surely because man himself tends to abandon his 
shortcomings, for man prefers right to wrong. 

§ 53. Thus, selecting one point for illustration, we 
can not deny that there is at present among children 
and boys little simplicity, little true gentleness, little 
mutual forbearance, brotherly patience, little true re- 
ligious f eehng ; but, on the other hand, much egotism, 
unfriendliness, particularly rudeness, etc. This is clearly 
due not merely to the failure of arousing at an early 
period, and of subsequently cultivating in the child 
and boy a feeling of common sympathy, but also to 
the early annihilation of this feeling between j)arents 
and children. 

If, then, true brotherly love, true simplicity, trust- 
ful and truly loving gentleness, friendliness, forbear- 
ance, and respect for the companion and fellow-man is 
to prevail again, this can be accomplished only by ad- 
dressing ourselves to the feeling of common sympathy 
lingering — however much or little of it there may still 
be left — in the heart of every human being, and culti- 
vating it with the greatest care. This would surely 
soon give back to us what we now miss so painfully in 
domestic, social, and religious life. 

Another source of many boyish faults lies in precipi- 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 123 

tation, carelessness, frivolity, and thoughtlessness. The 
boy is apt to act in obedience to a possibly praiseworthy 
impulse that holds captive his mind and body ; but he 
has not as yet experienced in his life the consequences 
of gratifying this particular impulse, and it has, indeed, 
not even occurred to him to consider the consequences 
of the action (see § 6). 

Thus a boy of by no means evil disposition took real 
delight in j)owdering his dear uncle's wig with plaster- 
of-Pai"is without any thought of wrong, and still more 
without considering that the hard grains of stone would 
necessarily injure the hair of the wig. 

Another boy found in a large tub of water some 
deep, round bowls of porcelain. He observed accident- 
ally that these bowls, when dropped upside down on 
the smooth surface of water, sprang back with an ex- 
plosive noise. This gave him pleasure ; he frequently 
tried the experiment, perfectly sure, without doubt, that 
the bowl could not be broken in the deep, yielding 
water. He was frequently successful, and, in order to 
improve the result of the experiment, the bowl was 
dropped from greater and greater heights. At one 
time the bowl fell so horizontally upon the level water- 
surface, and from so great a height, that the imprisoned 
air could not escape in any direction, but was com- 
pressed so forcibly that it broke the bowl into two al- 
most equal parts. Perplexed and distressed, the little 
self-teaching physicist stood before the unexpected re- 
sult of his play that had delighted him so much. 

Yet boys show a still greater — indeed, almost an in- 
credible — degree of short-sightedness in obeying their 
impulses. 



124: THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

A boy throws stones for a long time at tlie small win- 
dow of a house near by, trying very hard to hit it. He 
has no idea, nor does he realize that, if a stone strikes 
the window, the latter must necessarily break. At last 
a stone hits the window, the window breaks, and the 
amazed boy stands rooted to the spot. 

Again, another boy — by no means malicious, but, 
on the contrary, very good-natured and fond of pigeons 
— aimed at his neighbor's beautiful pigeon on the roof, 
with perfect delight and an intense desire to hit his 
mark. He did not consider that, if the bullet should 
hit the mark, the pigeon would be killed, and still less 
that this pigeon might be the mother of young ones 
needing her care. He fired, the bullet struck, the pigeon 
fell, a beautiful pair of pigeons were separated, and a 
number of unfledged young ones lost the mother who 
had fed and warmed them. 

It is certainly a very great truth — and failure to 
appreciate it does daily great harm — that it generally 
is some other human being, not unfrequently the edu- 
cator himself, that first makes the child or the boy bad. 
This is accomplished by attributing evil — or, at least, 
wrong — motives to all that the child or boy does from 
ignorance, precipitation, or even from a keen and praise- 
worthy sense of right or wrong. 

Unfortunately, there still are such men of mischief 
among educators. To them children and boys are 
always little malicious, spiteful, lurking sprites, where 
others see at most a jest carried too far, or the effect of 
too free an exercise of spirit. 

Such birds of ill omen, especially when they are 
educators, are the first to bring guilt upon such a child, 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 125 

who, tliougli not wliolly innocent, is yet without guilt ; 
for they give him motives and incentives which were 
as yet unknown to him ; they make his actions bad, 
thougli not, at first, his will ; they kill him spiritually, 
take away his (spiritual) life, and lead him to think 
that this hfe does not come to him out of himself 
and through himself, and that he can not secure it 
by his own effort. When true (spiritual) life has thus 
left him, and he can not secure it by his efforts, what 
does mere knowledge avail him ? what does a powerless 
wish, devoid of energy, avail him? What they have 
thus made evil and bad in the belief that not even the 
child can attain heaven, can carry a heaven in his heart, 
without first going, to speak mildly, through guilt — 
this they would have made good again by God, and this 
they call converting the child. 

They act hke the good-natured little boy who says 
of his fly or beetle that is weak from maltreatment, or 
has even lost its feet, " See, how tame ! " 

There still are children and boys who, in spite of 
great external shortcomings from neglect or ignorance 
of external relations of life, and in spite of total aban- 
donment to momentary impulses, nevertheless have an 
intense inner desire to become good and virtuous. It is 
true, such boys ultimately also may become intrinsically 
bad, but only because in their innermost desires they 
have frequently been not only not understood, but mis- 
understood. Could they yet be appreciated in good 
time, they would certainly still become good men. 

Children and boys, indeed, are often punished by 
parents and adults for faults and misdemeanors which 
they had perhaps previously learned from these very 



126 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

persons. Punisliment, especially punishment by words, 
very often teaclies children, or at least brings to tlieir 
notice, faults of wliicli tliey were wholly free. 

§ 54. Man, therefore, sins much more against man, 
against the children, than he does against God. For 
what can the unworthy action of the naughty child 
effect against the dignity of the father whose virtue has 
been proved and is acknowledged ? On the other hand, 
how much injury in body and soul may come to a 
younger child through the words and deeds of a naughty 
boy ! This, too, indicates the relation of man to man, 
and of man to God. 

§ 55. As already indicated, a deep and significant 
feeling of anticipation and longing aspiration occupies 
the boy's mind in all he does during this period. All 
he does bears a common character, for he seeks the unity 
that unites all things and beings, he seeks to find him- 
self in and among all things. 

An indefinable longing urges him to seek the things 
of nature, the hidden objects, plants and flowers, etc., 
in nature ; for a constant presentiment assures him that 
the things which satisfy the longing of the heart can 
not be found on the surface ; out of the depth and 
darkness they must be brought forth. 

Educators not only neglect at an early period to 
nurture this longing, but, unfortunately, they disturb at 
too early a period even the boy's effort to nourish it from 
his own resources. For the boy of this age, who has 
been led naturally, however feebly and unconsciously, 
seeks, in fact, only the unity that unites all things, the 
absolute living Unity, the source of all things — God ; 
not a god made and fashioned by human wit, but Him 



THE BOYHOOD OF MAN. 127 

who is ever near the heart and mind, near the living 
spirit, and who, therefore, may be known in spirit and 
in truth, and who alone can be thus approached. 

In his maturity, the boy is satisfied only when he has 
found Him to whom he has been drawn by indefinable 
yearning, because only then will he have found himself. 
We have thus reviewed the inner and outer life of the 
boy in free activity at school age. What, now, makes 
the school ? 



ly. 

MAN AS A SCHOLAR OR PUPIL. 

§ 56. The school endeavors to render the scholar 
fully conscious of the nature and inner life of things 
and of himself, to teach him to know the inner rela- 
tions of things to one another, to the human being, to 
the scholar, and to the living source and conscious unity 
of all things — to God (see § 45). 

The aim of instruction is to bring the scholar to in- 
sight into the unity of all things, into the fact that all 
things have their being and life in God, so that in due 
time he may be able to act and live in accordance with 
this insight. Instruction itself offers the ways and 
means for attaining this aim (see § 45). 

Therefore, the school and insti-uction place the ex- 
ternal world and his own self, inasmuch as this forms a 
part of the external world, before the scholar as some- 
thing separate, something different from him, something 
foreign to him. 

Furthermore, the school points out the inner tenden- 
cies and relations among individual things and objects, 
and thus rises to ever higher generality and spirituality. 
Therefore, the boy, when he enters school, leaves the 
external view of things and enters upon a higher spirit- 
ual view of them. 



MAN AS A SCHOLAR OR PUPIL. 129 

It is this leaving of the outer and superficial view 
of things on the part of the child, and his entrance npon 
an inner view leading to knowledge, insight, and con- 
sciousness, it is this transition of the child from do- 
mestic order to the higher cosmic order of things that 
makes the boy a scholar and constitutes the essence of 
the school. 

It is by no means the acquisition of a certain num- 
ber of miscellaneous external facts that constitutes the 
essential characteristic of the school, but only the living 
spirit that animates all things and in which all things 
move. 

Would that all whose business it is to direct and 
manage schools might carefully consider this ! 

Therefore, the school, as such, implies the presence 
of an intelligent consciousness which, as it were, hovers 
over and between the outer world and the scholar, 
which unites in itself the essence of both, holds the in- 
ner being of both, mediatmg between the two, impart- 
ing to them language and mutual understanding. This 
consciousness is the master in this art, who is called 
Tnaster also because for Tnost things he is to point out 
the unity of things.* He is schoolvazi^iQv because it is 
his business to point out and render clear to himself 
and others the inner, spiritual nature of things. 

Every school-child anticipates, expects, and requires 
this of the schoolmaster ; and this anticipation and hope, 
this faith, is the invisible and efficacious tie between 
the two. 

* Another of Froebel's strange plays on words that have no connec- 
tion with each other — this time the words Meister and meist {master and 
most). — Tr. 

14 



130 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

It is probable, too, that this anticipation and liope, 
tliis cliildlike faitli of cliildren, enabled former scliool- 
masters to be mncb more efficient in the production of 
genuine inner life in their children than many school- 
teachers of our day, who acquaint the children with 
many things without showing them their necessary 
inner spiritual unity and connection. 

Do not reply that, even if this higher view of the 
school is the true one, and if there exists an inner 
spiritual ideal of it, it could scarcely be shown to have 
an actual existence — at least, not where a tailor, as 
schoolmaster, sits enthroned on his working-table, and 
the children below him recite their a-b, ab, and their 
" sum total of all instruction," nor where an old wood- 
cutter in winter, in a dark, sooty room, drives into the 
heads of children the explanation of the small Lutheran 
catechism as he would his wedges for wood-splitting — 
that here certainly spirit, spiritual nature, and life have 
no place. 

[Proebel's early life fell in the period when country schools 
were still, in many cases, intrusted to persons who earned their live- 
lihood chiefly in some other occupation, such as tailoring, shoemak- 
ing, weaving, etc. Not unfrequently in poorer communities the same 
man " kept school " in winter, and during the summer worked on 
farms, or acted as a communal shepherd. One and the same scanty 
school-book contained " the sum total of all instruction " — the bulk 
of which was made up of the Lutheran catechism. — Tr.] 

But just here they have a place ; how else could the 
blind show the way to the lame, and the cripple support 
the weak on his feet ? It is only the child's anticipa- 
tion, his faith, his child-hke simphcity, which hopes 
and trusts that the schoolmaster — simply because he is 
and is called schoolmaster — can give an inner spiritual 



MAN AS A SCHOLAR OR PUPIL. 131 

unity to that wliicli is externally separated, giving life 
to that which is dead, and meaning to that which lives. 

This expectation alone, be it ever so misty and ob- 
scure, renders the schoolmaster's work efficient. This 
anticipation and faith are like the all- quickening air by 
which the stones, which he may offer his children to eat, 
are turned into food for them — if not for their head, 
yet for the heart. It is this anticipation, hope, and 
yearning, this all-quickening spirit and breath, that even 
in the dark, sooty room, make the school so dear to the 
school-boy. 

The spirit, the genuine spirit of the school, like the 
spirit of Jesus and of God, does not come by external 
doings. Thus, too, spacious school-rooms, as such, are 
not sufficient if the good ventilation has taken the place 
of higher spiritual life. Airy, bright school-rooms are 
a great, precious boon, worthy the daily gratitude of 
teacher and pupil ; but alone they are not sufficient. 

Luther's words, " To fast and to deck out the body 
furnish, indeed, fine external discipline ; but only he 
is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith and 
trust," find their application here, too. 

The faith and trust, the hope and anticipation with 
which the child enters school, accomplish everything; 
they bring about stupendous results in such schools. 
For the child enters school with the child-like faith, the 
silent hope : " Here you will be taught something that 
yon can not learn elsewhere ; here you gain food for 
mind and spirit, elsewhere you can obtain food only for , 
the body ; here (this is literally the child's living hope 
and anticipation) you receive food and drink that still 
the hunger and thirst, elsewhere you are offered food 



132 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

and drink tliat only give occasion for new hunger and 
thirst." 

With this faith he Hstens, too, to the ordinary words, 
the ordinary speech from the Kps of the man who is the 
schoolmaster. 

Even if tliere is no high spiritual meaning in his 
words, the child's faith discovers it there ; and the child's 
high power of spiritual digestion gets food from chips 
and straw. 

Now, if even the tailor, wood-cutter, or weaver, 
when he teaches, ceases to be to the child tailor, wood- 
cutter, or weaver, and becomes schoolmaster, how much 
more will this be the case where the school-teacher in 
village or city — be he called organist, chorister, or rector 
— is truly a schoolmaster ! 

Ask every true school-child, let every one who in 
village or city has been a true school-child ask himself, 
with what feeling he ajDproached the school-house, and 
still more with what feeling he entered it ; how he felt 
more or less keenly each day as if he had entered into 
a higher spiritual world. 

How else could it be possible for children to repeat 
daily, not only for more than a quarter of an hour during 
a whole week, without tiring but mth a feeling of height- 
ened hfe, some text from Sunday's sermon — e. g., " Seek 
ye first the kingdom of God " ? How else could the chil- 
dren sing and memorize hymns abounding in strange 
hgures, such as " How much it costs to follow Christ," 
or, " Let heart and spirit soar on high," daily, in sec- 
tions, during a whole week, with true inner edification 
and a living influence on the life of every scholar ? How 
else could this be done at an early period of boy-Ufe in 



MAN AS A SCHOLAR OR PUPIL. 133 

such a way that in the storms of life the youth and the 
man rest on these things as on a rock ? 

The occasional excessive vivacity of the boys in 
school does not contradict this. The boy feels less re- 
straint and moves more freely just because of the in- 
fluence of the school, because of the heightened inner 
spiritual power which has been fed by the schooL The 
genuine school-boy should never be dispirited and indo- 
lent, but full of hf e and spirit, strong in body and mind. 
Therefore the truly high-spirited boy who follows his 
natural vivacity full of joy surely never thinks of any 
injurious effect on outer life. 

It is a great mistake to think that the energetic, 
animating, uniting (intensive) power of man increases 
with years and cultivation. The energetic, animating, 
uniting power decreases ; and the expansive, productive, 
creative, modifying (extensive) power increases. 

The feeling and consciousness of this extending, 
creative power in man unfortunately have a tendency 
to destroy the recognition and appreciation of the for- 
mer energetic, animating, uniting power. This, with 
the confounding of the two in their nature and mani- 
festation, leads us in life, in the management of 
schools and of the education of children, to great and 
frequent errors, and robs the life of each one of its 
true basis. 

We now trust too little to the energetic and uniting 
power in the child and boy — we respect it too little as 
a spiritually quickening power. Therefore, too, it has 
too little influence in the later years of boyhood. For 
the neglect of this inner power causes the inner power 
itself to vanish. 



134 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Or we play with this power when it manifests itself 
in children. Hence we fare with them as with a mag- 
net which we leave hanging or even lying inactive and 
without a burden, or with whose magnetic power we 
play irregularly and regardless of magnetic laws. In 
both cases the power is diminished or lost ; when, later 
on, the magnet is to show its power, it is found weak 
and inefficient. So it is with those children ; when, later 
on, they are expected to bear some physical or moral 
burden, they are found wanting. 

Would that, in judging and estimating the inner 
power of children and boys, we might never forget the 
words of one of our greatest German writers: that 
there is a greater advance from the infant to the 
speaking child than there is from the school-boy to a 
IN^ewton ! 

Now, if the advance is greater, the power, too, must 
be greater ; this we should consider. The later extent, 
diversity, directness, and concentration of man's knowl- 
edge and insight (their extensiveness) dim and weaken 
our apprehension of the former unity and mobihty (in- 
tensiveness) of human power. 

It is the spirit alone, then, that makes the school 
and the school-room ; not the increasing analysis and 
isolation of what is already isolated — a process that 
has no limits, and supplies ever-new data for further 
analysis and reduction — but the unification of that which 
is isolated and separate by attention to the uniting spirit 
that lives in all isolation and diversity. This it is that 
makes the school. 

JS^ever forget that the essential husiness of the school 
is not so much to teach and to communicate a variety 



MAN AS A SCHOLAR OR PUPIL. 135 

and multiplicity of things as it is to give prominence 
to the ever-living unity that is in all things. 

[This is not to be construed as meaning that schooling should be 
chiefly for " power '' or " mental discipline," as is claimed by the ad- 
vocates of chiefly formal studies. No one could be more opposed 
than Froebel to the various school practices of " threshing empty 
straw " for the sake of gaining " threshing power." What he de- 
mands in the above sentence is the teaching of principles as opposed 
to the teaching of isolated facts and rules. He is filled with the 
same thought which Herbert Spencer subsequently expressed as fol- 
lows : " Between a mind of rules and a mind of principles, there ex- 
ists a difference, such as that between a confused heap of materials, 
and the same materials organized into a complete whole, with all its 
parts bound together." In both cases, it will be seen, material con- 
tents are implied, and mere formalism is excluded. — 2>.] 

Because this is so frequently forgotten and placed 
in tlie background disregarded, there are at present so 
many ^chooi-teachers and so few Q(^oo\-masters, so many 
institutions of learning and so few schools. 

Possibly they do not know, or, at least, they may 
not have recognized with sufficient clearness and dis- 
tinctness, what spirit it is that pervaded and even now 
sometimes pervades genuine schools, what spirit it is 
that ought to animate schools. Even the genuine, faith- 
ful schoolmaster, in the simplicity of his vocation, may 
not have recognized it nor formulated it ; in the faith- 
ful performance of his work, thoroughly absorbed in 
his calling, he may not recognize it nor be able to for- 
mulate it. For this reason, no doubt, it has glided away 
so rapidly, and continues to vanish. 

Unfortunately, we see here again confirmed what to 
our sorrow confronts us so often in life : that even the 
highest and most precious blessing is lost by man, if he 
does not know what he possesses, if he does not hold it 



l^Q THE EDUCATION OF MAK 

fast and represent it in his life consciously, freely, and 
from his own choice (see § 33). The anticipation and 
hope, the trust and disposition of childhood indeed show 
the way, but man is to follow it with conscious insight 
and self-determination, persisting in what he knows to 
be rio-ht. For man is destined for consciousness, for 
freedom, and for self-determination. 

§ 57. Furthermore, a vivid presentation of the re- 
quirements of the school shows that the subject m which 
the boy is to be instructed is also the one ahoict which 
he should be instructed — else instruction and learning 
are thoughtless play and without effect upon head and 
heart, the intellect, and the feelings. 

What has been said wiU also answer, or, at least, 
make it easy to answer, the questions : Do we need 
schools ? Why do we need schools and instruction ? 
What shall they be, and how shall they be constituted ? 

As spiritual and material beings, we are to become 
thinking, conscious, intelligent (self-consciously feeling 
and perceiving), efficient human beings. We should 
first seek to cultivate our powers, our spirit, as received 
from God ; to represent the divine in our lives, know- 
ing that thereby all that is earthly will, too, have its 
claims satisfied. We are to grow in wisdom and under- 
standing with God and men, in human and divine things. 
We should know that we are and ought to be and to hve 
in that which is our Father's. We should know that we 
in our earthly being and all earthly things are a temple 
of the living God. We should know that we are to be 
perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect ; and in ac- 
cordance with this knowledge we should act and live. 
To this knowledge the school is to lead us ; for tliis the 



MAN AS A SCHOLAR OR PUPIL. 137 

school and instruction are needed ; in accordance vrith 
this aim tliey should be constituted. 

§ 58. What, now, shall the school teach ? In what 
shall the human being, the boy as scholar, be instructed ? 

Only the consideration of the nature and require- 
ments of human dev^elopment at the stage of boyhood 
will enable us to answer this question. But the knowl- 
edge of this nature and these requirements can be de- 
rived only from the observation of the character of man 
in his boyhood. 

Now, in accordance with this character, this man- 
ner of being, in what things is the boy to be in- 
structed ? 

The life and outward being of man in the beginning 
of boyhood show him, in the first place, to be animated 
by a spiritual seK of his own ; they show, too, the exist- 
ence of a vague feeling that this spiritual self has its 
being and origin in a higher and Supreme Being, and 
depends on this Being in which, indeed, all things have 
their being and origin, and on which all things depend. 
The life and outward being of man in boyhood show 
the presence of an intense feehng and anticipation of 
the existence of a living, quickening Spirit, in which 
and by which all things live, by which all things are 
invisibly surrounded, as a fish is surrounded by water 
and man and all creatures by the clear, pure atmosphere. 

In his boyhood, in the beginning of his school-Hfe, 
man seems to feel the power of his spiritual nature, to 
anticipate vaguely God and the spiritual nature of all 
things. He shows, at the same time, a desire to attain 
ever more clearness in that feeling, and to confirm his 
anticipation. 



138 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Man, in boyliood, approaclies the outer world, placed 
over against Mm, -with the feeling and hope and belief 
that it, too, is animated and ruled by a spirit, like that 
which animates and rules him ; and he is filled by an 
intense, irresistible longing — which returns with every 
new spring and every new fall, with every new, fresh 
morning and calm evening, with every peaceful festive 
day — a longing to know this all-ruling spu-it, to make it 
his own, as it were. 

The outer world confronts man in boyhood in a 
two-fold character — first, as the product of human re- 
quirements and human power, and, secondly, as the 
outcome of the requirements of the power that works 
in nature. 

Between this outer world (the world of form and 
matter) and the inner world (the world of mind and 
spirit), language appears — originally united with both, 
but gradually freeing itself from both, and thereby unit- 
ing the two. 

§ 59. Thus the 7nind and the outer world (first as 
nature), and language which unites the two, are the 
poles of boy-life, as they also were the poles of mankind 
as a whole in the first stage of approaching maturity (as 
the sacred books show). Through them the school and 
instruction are to lead the boy to the threefold, yet in 
itself one, knowledge — to the knowledge of hunseK in 
all his relations, and thus to the knowledge of man as 
such ; to the knowledge of God, the eteraal condition, 
cause, and source of his being and of the being of all 
things ; and to the knowledge of natm*e and the outer 
world as proceeding from the Eternal Spirit, and de- 
pending thereon. 



MAN AS A SCHOLAR OR PUPIL. I39 

Instruction and the school are to lead man to a life 
in full harmony with that threefold, yet in itself one, 
knowledge. By this knowledge they are to lead man 
from desire to will, from will to firmness of will, and 
thus in continuous progression to the attainment of his 
destiny, to the attainment of his earthly perfection. 



V. 

THE CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF 
INSTRUCTION. 

A. Religion and Religious Instruction. 

§ 60. Religion is the endeavor to raise into clear 
knowledge the feeling that originally the spiritual self 
of man is one with God, to realize the unity with God 
which is founded on this clear knowledge, and to con- 
tinue to live in this unity with God, serene and strong, 
in every condition and relation of life. 

Religion is not something fixed, hut an ever-pro- 
gressing and, for this very reason, ever-present tend- 
ency. 

Religious instruction quickens, confirms, explains 
the feeling that man's own spiritual self, his soul, his 
mind and spirit, have their being and origin in God and 
proceed from God ; it shows that the qualities and the 
nature of the soul, of the mind and spirit, have their 
being in and through God ; it gives an insight into the 
being and working of God ; it gives an insight into the 
relation of God to man, as it is clearly manifested in 
the mind and life of every one, in life as such, and par- 
ticularly in the life and development of mankind, as 
they are preserved and revealed in the sacred books ; it 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 141 

applies this knowledge to life as such, and particularly 
to and in the life of each one, and to the progressive 
development of mankind, so that the divine may be 
represented in the human, and that man may know and 
do his duty ; it presents and points out the ways and 
means by which the desire to live in true unity with 
God may be gratified, and by which this unity, if im- 
paired, may be restored. 

For this reason religious instruction always as- 
sumes some degree of religion^ hoioever weak. Relig- 
ious instruction can bear fruit, can affect and influ- 
ence life only in so far as it finds in the mind of 
man true religion, however indefinite and vague. If it 
were possible that a human being could be without re- 
ligion, it would also be impossible to give him religion. 

This should be considered by thoughtless parents 
who allow their children to grow to school age without 
giving the slightest care to the religious tendency of 
the young minds (see § 21). 

Intelligent insight into the nature of religion — sim- 
ple as it is, founded in the very nature of man, and so 
in harmony with the nature of man — is nevertheless so 
rarely pure, because man, who is also material and oc- 
cupies space, finds it difficult to understand original 
unity without assuming and premising previous separa- 
tion, and because in the mind of man the conception of 
unification is always associated with the conception of 
union in space or time. But God, the spiritual, eter- 
nally self-developing, must ever remain an undivided 
one, simply because he is spiritual ; and, as t/rue origi- 
nal unity by no means implies, but absolutely excludes^ 
j^revious separation, so unification neither supposes 
15 



142 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

nor requires, but absolutely excludes, union in space 
and time. 

Human experience and observation offer by far 
more proofs than are needed to demonstrate and ex- 
plain this. For the idea, the thought translated by 
man into living form in some outward work, was origi- 
nally in immediate unity with his being, and bears un- 
mistakably the impress of the personality and individu- 
ality of the particular human being. This thought in 
this particular form belongs only to this human being ; 
and, were it to become conscious of itself in the form 
given to it, it could return to the totality of the thought 
of the man from whom it proceeds — i. e., it would give 
itseK an account of its relation to the totality of thought 
of this man ; in the consciousness of this relation it 
might develop and cultivate itself and thus raise itself 
to an apprehension of the totality of thought of this 
man ; nay, it might even raise itself at least to a vague 
appreliension of the fundamental thought of the hmnan 
being from whom it proceeds. ( For every human being 
has, indeed, hd one thought peculiarly and predomi- 
nantly his own, the fundamental thought, as it were, of 
his whole being, the key-note of his life-symphony, a 
thought which he simply seelcs to express and render 
clear with the help of a thousand other thoughts, with 
the help of all he does. Yet, by the representation of 
that thought, and of all other thoughts in living out- 
ward form, man has not in any sense been diminished 
within himseK; and, although this thought now ap- 
pears only outside of man, yet he will always cheerfully 
recognize it as his own, and concern himself about its 
development and cultivation (see § 63). / 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. I4.3 

The thinker and the thought — could the latter be- 
come conscious of itself — must ever be intensely mind- 
ful of the fact of their original unity; and yet the 
thought is not the thinker, although essentially one and 
united; such is the relation of the human spirit to 
God. 

A father has one or many sons. Each one is an in- 
dependent, self-conscious being. Yet who can fail to 
see that each son expresses, in a new individuality, the 
nature of the father ? 

The son, or each one of the sons, even in the most 
trivial thing and the most decided peculiarity, is again 
the father, only in a new individuality. Indeed, the 
sons of the same father, of the same parents, resemble 
one another in disposition, speech, tone of voice, and 
movements, so that, with the exception of a small new 
peculiarity, any one of them may, in many respects, 
be put in the place of another. Yet none of them 
is a part of another — each one is whole ; not one of 
them is a particular part of the father. As they are 
whole and undivided, so, too, the father is stiU whole 
and undivided. Could we see human relationships 
clearly, we should apprehend and recognize the divine. 

Similarly, unification does not imply a material union 
in time and space. Can not the thinking, feeling man 
be at one with his friends and beloved ones, and act in 
unison with them, although lands and seas separate 
them from him ? Can not and does not man feel him- 
seK to be in spiritual union with human beings of 
whom he has only heard, whom he has never seen and 
never will see, and does he not act in unison with 
them? Can not man feel himself to be in spiritual 



144 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

imion witli human beings who lived and worked thou- 
sands of years ago, or who may appear upon the eartli 
or elsewhere in space thousands of years later, and can 
he not act in unison with these ? 

Man spurns what might be to liim a guide and a 
light in his material experiences. Therefore, he is apt 
to grope also without guide and light in the realms of 
the purely spiritual, of the divine, which is without time 
and space. 

It is and remains forever true that, in purely and 
distinctly human relations, particularly in parental and 
spiritual human relations, there are mirrored the rela- 
tions between tlie divine and the human, between God 
and man. Those pure relations of man to man reveal 
to us the relations of God to man and of man to God. 

§61. If man consciously and clearly recognizes that 
his spiritual self proceeds from God, that it is born in 
God and from God, that it is originally one with God, 
and that consequently he is in a state of continuous de- 
pendence on God, as well as in a state of continuous and 
uninterrupted commimity with God ; if he finds his sal- 
vation, his peace, his joy, his destiny, his life (which is 
the genuine and only true life as such), and the source 
of his being in this eternally necessary dependence of 
his self on God, in the clearness of this knowledge, in 
living and constant obedience to this knowledge in all 
he does, in a life, indeed, fully unified with this knowl- 
edge and conviction — he truly, and in the full sense of 
the words, recognizes in God his Father. If he ac- 
knowledges himself to he a child of God, and lives in 
accordance with this, he has the Christian religion, the 
religion of Jesus. 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 145 

Therefore, a pure earthly, filial relation in tliought 
and action is such as was told of Jesns — " and he was 
subject unto them " (his parents). 

Therefore, a genuine parental relation in thought 
and action, honoring and acknowledging the as yet un- 
revealed and undeveloped divine spirit in the child, is 
such as was told of Mary : " But Mary kept all these 
sayings, pondering them in her heart." 

Therefore, pure human, parental, and filial relations 
are the key, the first condition, of that heavenly, divine, 
fatherly, and filial relation and life, of a genuine Christian 
life in thought and action. 

Therefore, the comprehension of the purely spiritual 
human relations, of the true parental and filial relations, 
furnishes the only key for the recognition and appre- 
hension of the relations of God to man and of man to 
God. 

Only in the measure in which we fully comprehend 
the purely spiritual, intrinsically human relations, and 
are faithful to them in life, even in the smallest details, 
can we attain a full knowledge and conception of the 
relations between God and man, apprehending them so 
deeply, vividly, and truly that every yearning of our 
whole being is thereby gratified, or at least clearly in- 
terpreted, and is transformed from an ever-ungratified 
longing into a steadily fruitful aspiration. 

We do not yet know, we do not, indeed, apprehend 
in the least, that which is so near us, which is one with 
our life, with ourselves ; we are not even loyal to the 
verbal knowledge and verbal apprehension of which we 
boast. This is daily shown by our behavior toward our 
parents, our children, our education. 



146 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

We would be children of God, and are not yet chil- 
dren of our fathers, of our parents. God is to be our 
Father, and we are so far from being true fathers to our 
children. We would have an insight into the divine, 
and we leave unheeded the human relations that lead to 
such insight. 

Insight into the relations between God and man, 
with full comprehension of these relations, blesses even 
to the thousandth generation through pure parental and 
iilial relations, and a life in accordance with these. 

We put outward limits to humanity eternally pro- 
gressing in its development, we inclose it in external 
bounds, and we imagine that it has already reached 
these bounds, even in its earthly development. Hu- 
manity, which lives only in its continuous development 
and cultivation, seems to us dead and stationary, some- 
thing to be modeled over again and again in accordance 
with its present type. We are ignorant of our own 
nature and of the nature of humanity, and yet would 
know God and Jesus. We imagine that we abeady 
know our own nature and the nature of humanity, and, 
therefore, fail to know God and Jesus. 

We separate God and man, man and Jesus, and 3'et 
would come to God and Jesus. We fail to see that 
every external separation implies an original inner unity. 
However clearly and unequivocally this is taught in 
the word and in the idea of separation, we overlook it 
wholly. 

The intimate unity of God and Jesus can not be ex- 
pressed more comprehensively and exhaustively, more 
truly and adequately, than by the relation of father and 
son, the highest and most intimate relation that man can 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 147 

know and compreliend, but which generally is viewed 
only superficially, and not in its innermost spiritual, per- 
vasive significance. The child, however, attains true 
sonship only by developing within, himself the father s 
nature in full consciousness and clear insight, by mak- 
ing the father's views, the father's nature and aspira- 
tions, the motives for all his thoughts and actions ; and 
by esteeming it his chief business, the source of peace 
and joy in his life, to be in all he does in harmony with 
his father whose high worth he has recognized. Such 
is the pure, genuine, and high, yet truly human, relation 
of the son to his father — the relation of the true, genu- 
ine son to the true, genuine father. 

The relation of sonship always implies on the part 
of the son a conscious sharing of the father's views and 
aspirations — a complete, essential, intrinsic, spiritual ac- 
cord between the son and father. 

Of course, this relation is and should be established 
first with the oldest, first-born son. While all his 
younger brothers ai'e still children, he is the only, the 
first-born son. 

Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God — he is the 
beloved son of God ; for among all human and earth- 
bom, among all heaven-born children, he is the first 
who in his knowledge and insight, in his thoughts, 
views, and conduct, was equally filled and animated by 
his Sonship to God — by God's Fatherhood to him. 
Therefore, he is the first-born of God, the first-born of 
all created beings. 

The oft-repeated saying of Jesus, " Believe in me " 
— " If ye were to believe in me " — means this : " Could 
you but feel, know, see, that the highest thing that man, 



148 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

as an earth-born creature of God, can see and under- 
stand — h\& divine origin and his constant dependence on 
God — is expressed with equal clearness and vividness 
in my life, my thoughts, and aspirations ; could you be 
brought by my life, my thoughts, my views, my con- 
duct, my deeds and words, to feel, to know, and to see 
that every human being should raise himseK to this 
knowledge and insight, and live accordingly — a knowl- 
edge and insight which can not be designated more ade- 
quately, purely, and worthily than by the relation of 
father and son — you, too, would rise to the true life, 
you would live as truly and eternally as God and I live 
eternally, you would thus through me receive eternal 
life, and I would give you truly eternal life." 

To recognize this, and to apply it in a pure human 
life, is Christiaii religion. 

Christian religion is the eternal conviction of the 
truth of the teachings of Jesus, and a lirm, persistent 
conduct in obedience to this conviction ; it is the con- 
viction that the truth of Christ's teaching confronts 
every human being, wheresoever he may turn with his 
spiritual eyes to seek, to test, to examine, to inquire ; 
that wheresoever he may turn he will be confronted by 
this one truth, this one spirit ; and that, as man's spirit- 
ual eye sees and discerns this one divine truth — this 
one divine spirit everywhere in endless diversity — this 
spirit would afford him the consolation and support 
which he needs in representing that ti'uth in a world 
where the cultivation of the outer sensual eye is still so 
far in advance of the cultivation of the inner spiritual 
eye ; where the knowledge and cultivation of the outer 
man is still so far in advance of the knowledge and cul- 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. I49 

tivation of tlie inner man. Thus, witli the aid of this 
spirit, he may rise to the highest knowledge, not alone 
of man, but of all created beings, to a knowledge of the 
truth that the infinite is revealed in the finite, the eter- 
nal in the temporal, the celestial in the terrestrial, the 
living in the dead, the divine in the human. 

The Christian religion, therefore, is the clear insight 
and conviction, firmly and eternally self-grounded and 
free from all illusion — and a life and conduct in full 
harmony and perfect accord with such insight and con- 
viction — that the manifestation and revelation of the 
one, eternal, living, seK-existent Being — of God — must 
from its very nature be triune : that God manifests and 
reveals himseK in his oneness as the Creator, Preserver, 
Ruler, the Father of all things ; that he manifests and 
reveals himself, has manifested and revealed himself, 
in and through a man who absorbed his whole being in 
himself, in and through an only being of supreme per- 
fection, who was therefore his Son, his only-begotten 
and first-born Son ; that in all the diversity of created 
things, in all things that are and move, in the life and 
spirit of all things, he has manifested and revealed him- 
self, and continues witliout interruption to manifest and 
reveal liimself as the One Life and Spirit, the Spirit of 
God; and that he does all this ever as the One Living 
God. 

Similarly we say, humanly speaking, but with a deep 
spiritual meaning, and with exhaustive fullness of spir- 
itual truth : The spirit of the peace, of tlie order and 
purity of this family, is shown in every single thing as 
well as in the whole house. Or, again, with correct and 
true feelmg : The s^jirit of the father is seen in all the 



150 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

children, and in the whole family. Or, in high creative 
truth : The spirit of the artist is manifest in all his 
works, as well as in each individual one. Or, with cor- 
rect sense and feehng of truth : It is a living expression 
of himseK. 

The Christian religion carries with itself the eternal 
conviction that it is this knowledge which leads not man 
alone, but all created beings (i. e., all beings that have 
come from the unity of God into an individual exist- 
ence), to a knowledge of their existence, to the fulfill- 
ment of their mission, to the attainment of their destiny ; 
and that every individual being — if it would attain its 
destiny — in necessary and indispensable obedience to its 
nature, must manifest and reveal itself in tliis triune way 
— in and as unity, in and as individuality, in and as 
manifoldness in ever-continuing diversity (see §§ 15, 18). 

The truth of this conviction is the sole foundation 
of all insight and knowledge. It is the only test of our 
conduct. It is the foundation of all religious instruc- 
tion. The knowledge and application of this truth en- 
ables us to recognize nature in its true character, as the 
writing and book of God, as the revelation of God. 

The knowledge of this truth gives a language to 
things human as well as to things natural, and imparts 
tnie significance and true life to all teaching and learn- 
ing, to all knowing and doing. 

Only through this conviction life becomes in all its 
phases and manifestations a self-contained whole, a unit. 
This knowledge and conviction alone render genuine 
human education truly possible. 

The knowledge of this truth, the insight into its na- 
ture, brings light and life, and, if need be, consolation 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 151 

and support in all circumstances ; it alone gives a mean- 
ing and a purpose to life. 

Therefore, Jesus commanded liis disciples : " Go ye 
into all the world and teach all nations " ; purif j and 
lead them to the knowledge of God the Father, of Jesus, 
the Son of God, and of the Holy Spirit of God, to a life 
in accordance with this knowledge and insight, and to 
all insight necessarily proceeding from this. 

Therefore, the truth of the threefold manifestation 
and revelation of the One God is the corner-stone of the 
rehgion wliich suffices all men in all zones, and which 
they have felt, however vaguely, and sought, however 
unconsciously; for it leads man in the spirit and in 
truth, in insight and life, to God and in God. 

Every human being, as a being proceeding from 
God, existing through God and living in God, should 
raise himself to the Christian religion — the religion of 
Jesus. Therefore, the school should first of all teach 
the religion of Christ ; therefore, it should first of aU, 
and above all, give instruction in the Clu-istian religion ; 
everywhere, and in all zones, the school should instruct 
for and in this religion. 

B. Natural Science and Mathematics. 

§ 62. What religion says and expresses, nature says 
and represents. What the contemplation of God teaches, 
nature confirms. AVhat is deduced from the contempla- 
tion of the inner, is made manifest by the contemplation 
of the outer. What religion demands, nature fulfills. 
For nature, as well as all existing things, is a manifesta- 
tion, a revelation, of God. The purpose of all existence 



152 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

is tlie revelation of God. All existing things are only 
tlirough and because of the (divine) essence that is in 
them (see § 1). 

Ever}'thing is of divine nature, of divine origin. 
Everything is, therefore, relatively a unity, as God is 
absolute unity. Everything, therefore, inasmuch as it 
is — though only relatively — a unity, manifests its nature 
only in and through a triune revelation and representa- 
tion of itself, and these only in and through continu- 
ously progressive, hence relatively all-sided development 
(see § 61). 

This truth is the foundation of all contemplation, 
knowledge, and comprehension of nature. Without it 
there can be no true, genuine, productive investigation 
and knowledge of nature. Without it there can be no 
true contemplation of nature, leading to insight into the 
essential being of nature. 

Only the Christian, only tlie human being with 
Christian spirit, life, and aspiration, can possibly attain 
a true understanding and a living knowledge of nature ; 
only such a one can be a genuine naturalist. True 
knowledge of nature is attainable by man only in the 
measure in which he is — consciously or unconsciously, 
vaguely or distinctly — a Christian, i. e., penetrated with 
the truth of the one divine power that lives and works 
in all things ; only in the measure in which he is filled 
with the one living divine spirit that is in all things and 
to which he himself is subject, through which all nature 
has its being, and by which he is enabled to see this one 
spirit in its essential being and in its unity in the least 
phenomenon, as well as in the sum of all natural phe- 
nomena. 



CHIEF GKOUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTIOX. I53 

§ G3. The relation of nature to God may be tmly 
and clearly perceived and recognized by man in the 
study and elucidation of the innermost spiritual relation 
of a genuine human work of art to the artist. In a sec- 
ondary degree it may be ]3erceived and recognized in 
every human work with reference to the human being 
to whom it owes its origin (see § 61). 
* All things that the living spirit creates, produces, 
and represents must have impressed and implanted in 
tliem the nature of this spirit, must bear the imprint of 
the seal of this spirit in every part of the product. 

Absolutely nothing can appear, nothing visible and 
sensible can come forth, that does not hold within itself 
the living spirit j that does not bear upon its surface the 
imprint of the living spirit of the being by whom it has 
been produced, and to whom it owes its existence. And 
this is true of the work of every human being — from 
the highest artist to the meanest laborer, from the most 
material to the most spiritual human work, from the 
most permanent to the most transient human activity — 
as well as of the works of God which are nature, the 
creation, and all created things. 

A keen, critical eye can discern in the vv'ork of art 
the artist's powers of thought and feeling, as well as 
their state of cultivation ; thus, too, the creative spirit of 
God may be discerned in his works (see § 60). 

We do not pay sufficient attention to this fact 
in human works, in works of art; therefore, it is so 
difficult for us to discern it in nature, in the work 
of God. 

In the consideration of the human work of art we 
do not concern ourselves sufficiently with the innermost 
16 



154 TOE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

spiritual relation of the artist to the work ; we judge its 
origin too mechanically and superficiallj. We do not 
consider sufficiently that these works, if they are works 
of high art, are not meant to be art-masks, but are al- 
ways representations of the most individual, the most 
personal inner life of the artist; for this reason the 
genuine spirit of the art-work and the spirit of nature 
are equally foreign, equally dead to us. 

Now, as the work of man, of the artist, carries within 
itself the sj)irit and character^ the Jife and essential he- 
ing^ of this man, and — as we say in human metaphor 
exhaustively and most significantly — breathes out this 
spirit and life, and as the human being who produced 
it, who created it, as it were, out of himself, neverthe- 
less remains the same undiminished and undivided be- 
ing, and is even strengthened in his power by this work, 
thus, too, the spirit and being of God — although the 
cause and source of all existing tilings, and although all 
existing things carry within themselves and breathe the 
one spirit of God — remain nevertheless in themselves 
the one Being, the one Spirit, undiminished and un- 
divided. 

As in the human work of art there is no material 
part of the artist's spirit, and as nevertheless the work 
of art as such carries within itself the whole spirit of its 
artist in such a way that this spirit lives in this work, is 
expressed by it and exhaled by it, is even breathed by 
it into others, where it may live, be developed, and cul- 
tivated — as the spirit of man is thus related to the work 
produced by him, so is the spirit of God, so is God, re- 
lated to nature and to all created things. The spirit of 
God rests in nature, lives and reigns in nature, is ex- 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 155 

pressed in nature, is communicated by nature, is devel- 
oped and cultivated in nature — yet nature is not the 
body of God. 

The sjju-it of the work of art, the spirit to which the 
work of art owes its existence, is the one and undivided 
spirit of the artist ; but, having as it were gone forth 
from the artist, it now lives and works on in the artist's 
work as an independent spirit, yet at one with the art- 
ist. Thus, the spirit of God, having gone forth from 
God, lives and works on in and through nature as an in- 
dependent spirit, yet at one with God. 

As nature is not the body of God, so, too, God him- 
self does not dwell in nature as in a house ; but the spirit 
of God dwells in nature, sustaining, preserving, foster- 
ing, and developing nature. For does not even the 
spirit of the artist, though but a human spirit, dwell in 
his work, sustaining, preserving, fostering, and keeping 
it ? Does not even the spirit of the artist impart earthly 
immortality, as it were, to a block of marble, to a per- 
ishable piece of canvas — nay, even to a winged and fleet- 
ing word, which passes away at the moment of its birth 
— indeed, to all his works, be he musician, poet, painter, 
or sculptor ? Does he not endow his work of art, as he 
puts it forth into life, with the choicest, most thought- 
ful care, the tenderest keeping, the high esteem of the 
most exalted human minds 'i 

Who can fail to mark the lofty, mighty spirit of a 
true human work of art, the presence at once supplicat- 
ing and commanding that goes forth from a lofty, pure 
work of art, as it does from the innocent look of a help- 
less child ? And yet it is but the work of a human 
spirit ; and this spirit preserves and keeps it, however 



156 TUE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

long tlie time and wide the space that separate the work 
from the artist. 

Toward a genuine work of art — though not, indeed, 
toward a merely mechanical piece of work with which 
thought had little or nothinjj to do — the artist feels as 
does a father who dismisses his son into hfe : he gives 
him words and thoughts to bless, guard, and keep him. 
To the true artist it is by no means a matter of indiffer- 
ence who buys his work, as a good father is by no means 
indifferent to the character of the companions of his 
son. Yet, full of trust and confidence, he dismisses his 
son into the world ; for his own spirit and aspirations 
rest upon and in his son. Thus, too, the artist's charac- 
ter lives and breathes wholly in his work, even in its 
least and smallest parts, in every line, and in the very 
mode of their connections. This spirit or character, 
whose lofty nature and aspirations the artist knows in 
his own being, tills him with the hope that it will keep 
his work of art, that it will bring his w^ork to human 
beings who wall receive the created spirit in their own 
lives, and will develop and cultivate it there. 

The work of art is external to man — no material 
part, not a drop of life-blood, passes from him to his 
work — and yet man sustains, keeps, and preserves it ; 
he strives to keep away from it what may cause it the 
least injury row and in time to come. Man feels him- 
self to be one with his work of art ; how much more, 
then, will God sustain, keep, and preserve his w'ork, 
which is nature, and keep away from it all injury — for 
God is God, and man is only man ! 

Yet the artist, in whatever direction, remains ever 
unalterably and independently the same in himself, 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. I57 

though all his works perish ; so, too, God remains un- 
alterably the same, even though all nature perish. 

Nay, the human work of art, as well as nature, the 
divine work of God, may externally perish, and yet the 
spirit expressed, revealed, living and moving in it, will 
continue to be and to unfold itself evermore. Indeed, 
it gains thereby true freedom, and, from this very fact, 
is revealed more clearly and vividly. 

Behold the ruins of perished human art-power ! be 
they the mighty work of the giant strength of indi- 
viduals or the colossal product of the omnipotence of 
the intimate union of many for one purpose which is 
common to all, and which each one of the workers, 
on whatever stage of insight, holds and must hold as 
his purpose — an omnipotence whose existence man- 
kind have scarcely felt as yet, and in which they still 
less believe. Those ruins admonish the succeeding 
weaker generations ; and the generation that begins 
to become conscious of its essential nature is lifted 
in confidence and courage by those proofs of vanished, 
though by no means only outer, human power and 
greatness. 

Thus the colossal remains of shattered mountains 
and mountain-chains speak of the greatness of the spirit 
of God, of the greatness of God ; and even man is en- 
couraged, and lifts himself up by them, feeling within 
himself the same spirit and power. Thus the slender 
ivy climbs up on the mighty rock, and gathers from it 
strength and food, not only for its life, but also for its 
upward growth. 

Thus we see everywhere the same living and deep, 
inner and spiritual, pervading and sustaining relations 



158 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

between man and the work of art, and between God and 
nature. 

When barbarians — rough, unfeeling, thoughtless men 
— destroy the work of art, or even the slightest vestige 
of a human spirit that has lived and worked on eartli, 
the noble, sensitive human being grieves perhaps even 
more than he would do if the life of an ordinary living 
being were destroyed. 

For does not even the work of man imply the inde- 
pendent development of the spirit and. thought it holds ? 
May not the character expressed in a work of art influ- 
ence entire generations, elevating or, on the other hand, 
degrading them ? And yet they are but the works of 
man that may do this ; what, then, may, will, and must 
the works of God do ; what must nature, the work of 
God, be to man ? 

We study to acquaint ourselves with the life and 
aspirations, etc., of human works ; we study the ^vorks 
of man, and justly so. The undeveloped, maturing hu- 
man being should profit by the development of maturer 
men. How much more, then, should we endeavor to 
know nature, the work of God, to acquaint ourselves 
wntli the objects of nature in their life, their signifi- 
cance, in their relation to the spirit of God ! 

This is indicated to us, too, in the fact that genuine 
works of human art, human works that express the pure 
spirit of man, which is also the spirit of God, are not 
easily nor always readily accessible for every one, and 
imder all circumstances ; while, on the other hand, man 
finds himself everywhere surrounded by pure works of 
God, by works of nature that clearly express the spirit 
of God. 



CHIEF GROUrS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 159 

It is true, we can find and recognize God's spirit 
through and in the human spirit ; but it is difficult to 
distinguish in each particular case that which belongs 
to humanity in general from that which belongs to the 
particular human being; it is difiicult to distinguish 
which one of the two predominates, and which one, at 
any particular time, is acting. On the other hand, with 
pure works of nature, the natural as such preponderates 
very decidedly, the particular characteristics of the natu- 
ral object are by far less prominent. Thus the pure 
spirit of God not only is seen more clearly and dis- 
tinctly in nature than it is in human life, but in the 
clear disclosures of God's spirit in nature are seen the 
nature, dignity, and holiness of man reflected in all 
their pristine clearness and purity. 

Again, man sees in nature not only general princi- 
ples — as has been previously indicated — but he beholds 
therein his aspiration, his destiny, his mission, the ne- 
cessary conditions, impediments, and phases of their 
attainment, as in a picture, in unmistakable and living 
characters, expressing not the notion, but the thing, 
the relation itself. Following these silent, absolutely 
reliable, outwardly intelligible, impersonal teachers, 
man may not only learn from them with certainty the 
thing to be done at every moment of life, but, acting 
accordingly, he will surely satisfy the demands made 
upon him. 

Among all objects of nature, none seem in this re- 
spect truer, clearer, more complete, and yet simpler — 
because of their calm thoughtful aspect and the clear un- 
folding of their inner life — than plants, especially trees. 
They are, therefore, rightly distinguished among nat- 



160 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

ural objects as trees of the knowledge of good and evil, 
for they are such in reality ; indeed, they were so con- 
sidered and named with touching, truthful, and deep 
significance, on the very first appearance of self-con- 
sciousness in the human race. 

The observation of the development of individual 
man and its comparison with the general development 
of the human race show plainly that, in the develop- 
ment of the inner life of the individual man, the history 
of the spiritual development of the race is repeated, 
and that the race in its totality may be viewed as one 
human being, in whom there will be found the neces- 
sary steps in the development of individual man (see 
§§ 15, 24). Therefore, not only may we learn from the 
trees, from the life of a tree, the phenomena of indi- 
vidual human life, but we may find therein the phenom- 
ena of the development of the race in their necessary 
connection. It is true, in their full distinctness, free 
from all arbitrariness and triviality, this has as yet 
scarcely been shown, yet the further development and 
cultivation of the parables of Christ may lead to it 
(see § m). 

A by far wider application might be given to this 
contemplation of nature here only touched upon, were 
it not out of place on account of the almost complete 
ignorance that prevails concerning this subject, and 
were it not founded on a now very rare mode of obser- 
vation of external natural phenomena and of the devel- 
opment of inner life in ourselves. 

If we seek the inner reason for this high symbolic 
meaning of the different individual phenomena of na- 
ture, particularly in the phases of development of natu- 



CniEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 161 

ral objects in relation to the stadia of human develop- 
ment, we tind it in the fact that nature and man have 
their origin in one and the same eternal Being, and that 
their development takes place in accordance with the 
same laws, onlj at different stages. 

Thus the observation of nature and the observation 
of man, in comparison and in connection with the facts 
and phenomena of the general development of human- 
ity, are mutually explanatory, and mutually lead to 
deeper know^ledge the one of the other. A clear insight 
into the causative and creative relation of the human 
spirit to its external work leads also to a clear insight 
into the relation of the causative, creative spirit of God 
to nature ; leads to a knowledge of the manner in which 
the finite proceeds from the infinite, the material from 
the spiritual, nature from God. Even man, although 
externally a finite being, does not always need his arms 
and hands for the production and outward reju'esenta- 
tion of his work ; more frequently his will, his deter- 
mining look, the breath of his word, create and bring 
forth. Even man, although externally finite, can bring 
forth material for his creations, without having recourse 
to material existences. 

Whoever wants further proof for this need only pass 
in review the whole series of developments, conditions, 
and phenomena, from tlie least material, innermost 
thought to the most definitely formed, most matei'ial 
word in writing. 

Thus man may know and understand even the most 
difiicult process, the production of the external and ma- 
terial from the inner and spiritual ; maj'' know and un- 
derstand it — not as an idea, but as a fact — in the pro- 



162 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

cesses of his own tliinking as an effect and consequence 
of the transformation of his own innermost thought into 
an external work, an outer something. 

Therefore, as the spirit of the artist is in the work 
of art, so is the spirit of God in nature. As the work 
of art Hves and moves in accordance with its spirit and 
related to its maker, so nature, born from God, lives and 
moves in accordance with its spirit, as a work of God, 
Hving in and through God, and breathing the spirit of 
God, related to God, its Maker, and in inner spiritual 
relation to man. 

As the world of art is the invisibly- visible * revela- 
tion and expression of the spirit of man, and thus be- 
comes an in visibly- visible kingdom of the human spirit, 
so, too, nature is the invisiblj^-visible revelation of the 
spirit of God, and becomes an invisiblj-visible kingdom 
of God. 

§ 64. To feel the presence of this threefold king- 
dom of God (the visible, the invisible, and the in- 
visibly-visible), to acknowdedge it, and to let it influ- 
ence life — this alone can give us the peace which we 
seek within and without, which from the first moment 
of self-consciousness we are driven to seek and to 
pursue, even at the expense of our own life, of our 
external possessions, of our external welfare, w^hatever 
its name. 

For this reason alone, man — particularly in boyhood 
— should become intimate with nature, not so much 
with reference to the details and the outer forms of her 
phenomena as with reference to the spirit of God that 

* Unsichtbar-sichtbar = invisibly-visible, i. e., visible to the mental, 
to the spiritual eye, though invisible to the physical eye. — Tr. 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 163 

lives in her and rules over her. Indeed, the boy feels 
this deeply, and demands it ; for this reason, where love 
of nature is still unimpaired, nothing, perhaps, unites 
teachers and pupils so intimately as the thoughtful study 
of nature, and of the objects of nature. 

Parents and school-teachers should remember this, 
and the latter should, at least once a week, take a walk 
with each class — not di-iving them out like a flock of 
sheep, nor leading them out like a company of soldiers, 
but going with them as a father with his sons or a 
brother with his brothers, and acquainting them more 
fully with whatever the season or nature offers them 
(see § 98). 

The schoolmaster who lives in a village or in the 
country should not object to this request, by saying, 
"My school-children are constantly out-doors anyhow, 
and running about in the fields and forests." They are, 
indeed, in the fields and forests, but they do not live 
there ; they do not live in and with nature. 

Not only children and boys, but indeed many adults, 
fare with nature and her character as ordinary men fare 
with the air. They live in it, and yet scarcely know it 
as something distinct, and much less with reference to 
its essential properties concerning the preservation of 
his life ; for ordinarily the name air is given merely to 
the currents of wind or to their temperature.* 

Therefore, these children and boys who spend all 
their time in the fields and forests see and feel nothing 
of the beauties of nature, and of their influence on the 
human heart. They are like the people who have grown 

* This has reference to the German word Luft (air), which is popularly 
used for Wind (wind). — Tr, 



164 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

up in a very beautiful country, and who have no idea of 
its beauty and its spirit. 

Yet — and this is the essential point — the boy may 
possibly with his spiritual eye find, see, and apprehend 
the inner life of surrounding nature ; but he fails to find 
the same feelings among adults who suppress that ger- 
minating inner life in its very beginning. 

The boy seeks from adults the confirmation of his 
inner, spiritual anticipations, and jnstly so, from an in- 
tuitive sense of what the elder ought to be, from respect 
for the elder. If he fails to find it, a double effect fol- 
lows — loss of respect for the elder, and a recoil of the 
original inner anticipation. 

Therefore, it is so important that boys and adults 
should go into the fields and forests together striving to 
receive into their hearts and minds the life and spirit of 
nature, which would soon put an end to the idle, use- 
less, and indolent loafing of so many boys. 

The cruel treatment of insects and other animals in 
which, particularly, young boys engage good-naturedly 
and with no evil intention — though this does not apply 
, to cruelty as such — originates in the little boy's desire 
to obtain an insight into the inner life of the animal, 
to get at its spirit. But failure to explain or to guide, 
as well as false interpretation or guidance, or the 
misunderstanding of this desire, may at a later period 
develop in such boys liardened intentional cruelty to 
animals. 

§ 65. Such are the character and influence of nature 
as a whole, such are the character and influence of na- 
ture as the image and work of God, as the word of God, 
revealing, communicating, and awakening the spirit of 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 165 

God in and by its integrity ; as sucli, natnre presents 
herself to inner contemplation. 

Quite differently, however, she presents herself to 
ordinary outer contemplation. To this she appears as a 
diversity of many different and separate individuahties 
without definite, inner, living connection ; individuah- 
ties each of which has its own peculiar form,, peculiar 
development, peculiar absolute purpose ; without any 
indication that these externally distinct and separate in- 
dividualities are organically united members of one great 
living organism, of one great intrinsically and spiritually 
coherent whole ; without any indication that natm-e is 
such a whole. 

§ 66. This external view of nature, based on partic- 
ular natural phenomena, on particular natural objects 
seen in their separation, is Hke the external view of a 
large tree, or of any complex plant, in which each leaf 
seems to be strictly separate from the others. Here, 
too, there seems to be no bridge, no inner connection 
among the leaves and twigs, nor in the little blossom 
between the calyx and corolla, and between this and the 
stamens and pistils. But here, too, when in thoughtful 
search the spiritual eye seeks and finds the common 
bond among the nearest particulars, and proceeds from 
every new-found unity to a higher and the highest unity, 
it is at last recognized as an external manifestation of an 
inner law acting deep in the very heart of the plant. 

That external view of nature in her particulars re- 
sembles the external view of the starry sky, in which 
only by means of arbitrary lines particular stars are 
gathered into larger groups, and whose mner connection 
even the keenest, clearest, and most fully developed 
17 



IQQ THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Bpiritual eye can apprehend only in the union of smaller 
world-groups into ever larger ones. 

In this usual, merely external, view of nature, the 
particulars of the distinct and separate natural objects 
appear not so much as the products of one and the same 
existence, but rather as the products of different active 
forces. But this can not satisfy, even in boyhood, the 
mind and spirit of man, in itself one and undivided. 

§ 67. Therefore at an early i)eriod, even in boy- 
hood, man seeks unity and union for this externally sep- 
arate diversity and individuality among objects ; seeks 
unity and union in a separation which in obedience to a 
necessary law of inner development presents things out- 
wardly in apparently confused heaps. His mind is eon- 
tented when he begins to apprehend this unity and 
union, but only later on, when he has found it, is his 
spirit fully satisfied. 

But a review of the diversities in the particulars 
of a plant leads to the recognition of deep-laid law dis- 
cernible only for the spiritual eye. Similarly the pa- 
tient following of this diversity itself leads to the recog- 
nition, too, of the external unity among the diversities 
and individualities of nature ; for, however great the pe- 
culiarities, diiferences, and degrees of separation among 
natural objects, the peculiar nature and appearance, the 
structure and form of each thing, are always found to rest 
ultimately upon the nature of force, as the connecting 
unit from which all individuality and diversity proceed. 
]S"ow force, from its very nature, is seK-existent, pro- 
ceeds from itself by its own activity as its own outward 
manifestation ; therefore, active force is the ultimate 
cause of all things, of every phenomenon in nature. 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTIOX. 167 

The contemplation of tlie essence of force — in its 
manifestations as divine power as well as in its activity 
in our own minds and life — will enable us, too, to appre- 
hend and understand nature in her numberless forms 
and structures, in her living inner affinities and develop- 
ments, as well as in her external relations and deduc- 
tions. Man is urged to contemplate the inner essence 
of force by the desire and hope of finding thereby the 
outer unity of the particular facts of nature, of the vari- 
ous forms and shapes of nature. 

[Similarly Herbert Spencer declares force to be the ultimate of 
ultimates, and looks upon space, time, matter, and motion as " either 
built up of, or abstracted from, experiences of force." — Tr.] 

§ 68. Force, as such, is a spontaneous energy equally 
active in all directions, proceeding either from absolute 
unity or from some relative unity, but always from a 
unity. At the same time, the nature of force necessarily 
impKes the coexistence and simultaneousness of action 
and reaction. 

Individual and varied existence as such, however, 
postulates necessarily a second, external condition of 
form and structure, viz., matter. It shows how all 
earthly and natural structure and form are bom from 
matter which is the same everywhere, in every respect, 
even in the smallest details of cohesion and constitu- 
tion, subject to the same laws, and therefore outwardly 
infinitely mobile in its minutest parts ; and all this be- 
cause of the everywhere equally diffused indwelling 
force, because of the external influence of the sun and 
of light and heat, in obedience to the all-pervading great 
law of nature, according to which the general gives rise 
to the particular. 



168 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

All individuality and diversity of earthly and nat- 
ural objects, as well as all inner contemplation of nature, 
show that force and matter are in themselves insepa- 
rably one. 

Matter and spontaneous force proceeding from a 
point with equal activity in all directions mutually con- 
dition each other: neither exists without the other, 
neither can exist without the other ; nay, strictly speak- 
ing, it is impossible to think one without the other. 

The reason for tlie infinite mobility of matter in its 
minutest parts lies in the original spherical tendency of 
the indwelling force, in the original tendency of force, 
spontaneously proceeding from a point, to diffuse equally 
in all directions. 

§ 69. Now, since force develops and diffuses itself 
in all directions equally, freely, and unimpeded, its out- 
ward manifestation, its material resultant, is a sphere. 
For tliis reason the spherical or, in general, the round 
form is most commonly the first and the last form of 
things in nature : e. g., the great heavenly bodies, such 
as the suns, planets, and moons, water and all liquids, 
the air and all gases, and even the dust. 

In all the diversity and amid the apparently most in- 
compatible differences of earthly and natural structures, 
the sphere seems to be the primitive form, the unity 
from which all earthly and natural forms and structures 
are derived. Hence, too, the sphere resembles none of 
the other natural forms, and yet essentially contains the 
possibility and the law of all of them ; it is, at the same 
time, formless and the most perfect form. 

Neither point nor line, neither plane nor side, can be 
discerned on its surface ; yet it is all-pointed and all- 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 169 

sided, contains all the points and all the lines, etc., of 
all earthly structures and forms, not in their possibility 
alone, but even in their actuality. 

Therefore, all structures of the living, active, effect- 
ive objects of nature rest primarily on the law of sphe- 
ricity, underlying the structure of the sphere ; rest 
primarily — starting from the conception of the inner 
essence of force, and viewing them as products of force 
— on the necessary tendency of force to represent in 
and through matter the spherical nature of force, the 
nature of the sphere in all possible forms and structures, 
varieties, and combinations. For in and with the spon- 
taneous, spherical action of the force as a natural and 
earthly phenomenon, and as such united with matter, 
there is implied at the same time an inward swelling 
and surging, measuring and weighing tendency — caus- 
ing differences in the effect and tension of the force in 
the different directions. 

[How much Proebel was impressed with the significance of the 
sphere as a symbol of unity of life is shown in the following extract 
from " Aphorisms," written down in 1831 : " The spherical is the 
symbol of diversity in unity and of unity in diversity. The spheri- 
cal is the representation of diversity developed from the unity on 
which it depends, as well as the representation of the reference of all 
diversity to its unity. The spherical is the general and the particu- 
lar, the universal and the individual, unity and individuality at the 
same time. It is infinite development, and absolute limitation ; it 
connects perfection and imperfection. All things unfold their 
spherical nature perfectly only by representing their nature in their 
unity — in some individuality, and in some diversity. The law of the 
spherical is the fundamental law of all true and adequate human 
culture."— 2^r.] 

The differences in the quantity and intensity of the 
effect of the force in different directions — differences 



170 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

wliicli in accordance with their nature must appear 
simultaneously in force and in matter — this fixed preva- 
lence of the effect of the force in certain directions — 
this fixed, peculiar relation among the different direc- 
tions of the force — this difference of tension in the dif- 
ferent directions, and the con-esponding and simultane- 
ous difference in the individualization of matter — must, 
as a fundamental quality of the mass of matter as a 
whole, dwell in the same measure in each and every 
smallest particle of that mass. 

This peculiar relation and inner law of the efficient 
force constitute, in every particular case, the essential 
cause of the form and structure in question. 

The differences of direction and intensity in the 
action of the forces, these differences of tension and the 
resulting easy divisibility of matter, these planes and 
directions of tension, contain the fundamental law of 
all forms and structures. Their clear conception affords 
the possibility of seeing them in their nature, relations, 
and combinations. 

Now, as each thing can manifest itself completely 
only by representing its being in unity, individuaht}^, 
and diversity, or in the indisjiensable triune way (see § 
61), the essential nature of force, too, is shown comj)letely 
and perfectly only in such a triune representation of its 
being by and in form. This implies, at the same time, 
two other tendencies of nature : the tendency to repre- 
sent the particular in the general, and the general in 
the particular ; and the tendency to make the internal 
external, the external internal, and to represent the two 
in unity (to unify the two). 

All individual forms in nature, in all their diversity, 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 171 

have their origin in this triune representation by means 
of matter and through form, of force in union with 
those general tendencies of nature. 

§ 70. Furthermore, however, one and the same force 
acts in one and the same material, either particularizing 
in many individual phenomena or undivided and in 
general ; or within the limits of its formative law its ac- 
tion predominates in the direction of one of the dimen- 
sions — heiglit, length, or breadth — producing a number 
of variations of crystalline form, such as the fibrous, the 
radiate, the granular, the laminate, the foliate, needle- 
shaped, etc. The former is due to the fact that as 
many particles of the material as possible in a relatively 
large mass tend to represent their formative law, but 
are reciprocally hindered by their very mass in the de- 
velopment and completion of their crystals. The latter 
is due to the fact that the representation of the law of 
formation is greater in certain dimensions than it is in 
the rest. 

The pure and perfect crystal, which represents even 
in its outward form the relative intensity in the differ- 
ent directions of the inner force, is formed when aU the 
individual particles and aU the individual points of the 
active force subject themselves to the higher law of a 
common requirement and of the integral representation 
of the law of formation, a higher law which, though it 
may hamper and fetter individual particles or points, 
yet yields the greater, perfectly formed product. 

The crystalline is the first phase of earthly forma- 
tion. Action and reaction and their simultaneousness, 
which belong to the essential nature of force, give rise 
to a tendency toward predominance of the force in cer- 



172 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

tain directions, and to a reciprocal hindrance and ten- 
sion even in the minutest parts, and consequently to 
the most sharj^ly defined relations of tension in the ma- 
terial in all directions, and thereby to greater or smaller 
divisibility in these planes and lines of tension. 

Therefore, the first crystals must of necessity have 
rectilinear outlines ; nay, in the first appearance of the 
crystalline, there must be evidence of resistance to the 
common subordination under the fixed law of a definite 
crystal — resistance to its perfect representation. Simi- 
larly, crystals in which the force acts unequally in dif- 
ferent directions must appear earlier than those in which 
the force acts equally in different directions ; hence the 
external result will not be an all-sidedly equilateral crys- 
tal — as would be indicated by the essential nature of the 
force — but solid forms not in conformity with this all- 
sided equal activity of the force. Again, the develop- 
ment of the essential nature of force in its external 
manifestation of crystallization ascends from the un- 
equilateral to the simplest equilateral forms ; while, at 
the same time, the essential nature of the force as such 
for the purpose of outward representation descends, 
from unity and all-sidedness, to individuality and one- 
sidedness. 

If we now seek to recognize and represent this de- 
scent in the essential nature of the force from unity to 
individuality, we shall see nature at this stage, both in 
her inner tendency and her outer manifestations, in all 
her individuality and one-sidedness, but also in her unity 
and all-sidedness. 

[Froebel's interest in crystallography was aroused by the lect- 
ures of Professor Weiss at Berlin in 1812. He saw in it the possi- 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 173 

bility of direct proof of the inner connection of all things. After 
the campaign of 1813 against Napoleon, he returned at once to this 
study, and was fortunate enough to secure the position of assistant 
to Professor Weiss in the Roj'al Museum of Natural History. He 
writes concerning this period : " What I had seen in so many ways in 
the great universe, in the life of men, in the development of human- 
ity, I saw here again in the smallest crystal. I saw it clearly, that 
the divine is not only in the greatest, it is also in the most minute 
things ; in full abundance and power it is even in the least thing. 
Thus my earths and crystals became to me a mirror of the develop- 
ment and history of mankind." However, he was much disconcerted 
by the multiplicity of fundamental forms as taught in this science ; 
and he busied himself much with efforts to reduce all forms to one — 
probably the cube. The results of these efforts appear in the follow- 
ing paragraphs, and, although not accepted by the mineralogical 
science of the day, stand as a remarkable monument of Froebel's 
faith in the principle of liie-unity. 

In his letter to the Duke of Meiningen he exclaims, " The world 
of crystals proclaimed to me, in distinct and unequivocal terms, the 
laws of human life." His genius, however, urged and forced him 
away from stones to men, and, sacrificing everything, refusing even 
a professorship of mineralogy, he devoted himself to the work of 
education. — Tr.'\ 

§ 71. In the entire process of the development of the 
crystal, as it is found in natural objects, there is a highly- 
remarkable agreement with the development of the hu- 
man mind and of the human heart. Man, too, in his 
external manifestation — like the crystal — bearing within 
himself the living unity, shows at first m_ore one-sided- 
uess, individuality, and incompleteness, and only at a 
later period rises to all-sidedness, harmony, and com- 
pleteness. 

Like all similar facts, this analogy in the develop- 
ment of nature and of man is very important for the 
pui'poses of self-knowledge and of the education of self 
and others ; it throws light and clearness upon human 



174 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

development and education, and gives firmness and sure- 
ness of action in their various requirements. 

Like the world of the heart and mind, the world of 
crystals is a glorious, instructive world. What the spir- 
itual eye there beholds inwardly, it here sees outwardly. 

§ T2. Every crystallogenic force that manifests itself 
in and through formative and externalizing processes 
proceeds from a center, simultaneously tending in op- 
posite directions. By its very nature, therefore, it im- 
poses limits upon itself, is all-sided, radiating, rectilinear, 
and, hence, necessarily spherical in its operation. 

I^ow, such a force, operating without hindrance, 
will necessarily act bilaterally in any one direction ; 
and in the totality of all directions there will always be, 
starting in any direction from the center, sets of three 
such bilateral directions, perpendicular to one another, 
in the fullest equilibrium of independence and interde- 
pendence. 

Again, on account of the limitations lying in the 
force itself, among all these sets of three bilateral direc- 
tions, three exclusively predominate and appear wholly 
distinct from all others. Even the most abstract view 
of force will lead to this distinction and predominance, 
because they lie equally in the nature of force and in 
tb.e law of human mental activity. The result of the 
predominance of these three bilateral, perpendicular 
directions, which equally control and determine all other 
directions, mast be a crystal limited by straight lines 
and planes, revealing in every part the inner nature 
and action of the force ; it can be only a cube, a regular 
hexahedron. 

Each of the eight corners shows the perpendicularity 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. I75 

of the three bilateral directions at the center, and thus 
indicates externally the center of the cube. Similarly 
the three sets of four parallel edges show each of the 
inner directions fourfold. The six faces mark in their 
centers the six terminal points of the three bilateral di- 
rections, and determine the invisible center of the cube. 

In the cube the tendency of the force toward spheri- 
cal representation is in a state of highest tension. In- 
stead of all-sidedness we have particular-sidedness of 
faces, corners, and edges ; and these few points (corners), 
lines (edges), and planes (faces), subordinate and control 
all others. There appears, too, the tendency of the 
force to represent itself, not only in corporeal space, but 
also in each of the possible particular j^hases of space — 
as a point and in points, as a line and in lines, as a plane 
and in planes. This, again, necessarily reveals the tend- 
ency of the force to derive the line and the plane from 
the point, to represent the point as a line and as a plane, 
the line as a point and as a plane, to contract the line 
into a point and to expand it into a plane, etc. 

We meet this effect of force, henceforth, at every 
step of the study of crystal forms ; indeed, the opera- 
tion of crystallogenic force seems to be limited to this, 
and all crystals seem to owe their characteristics exclu- 
sively to this tendency. Indeed, this must be'so ; it is 
the first general manifestation of the great natural laws 
and tendencies to represent each thing in unity, indi- 
viduality, and diversity ; to generalize the most particu- 
lar, and to represent the most general in the most par- 
ticular ; and, lastly, to make the internal external, the 
external internal, and to represent both in harmony 
and union. 



176 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

If, at tlie same time, we keep in mind tliat man, too, 
is almost wholly subject to these great laws, that almost 
all the phenomena and events of his life are based on 
them, these considerations will reveal to us also the na- 
ture of man, and teach us how to develop and educate 
him in accordance with the laws of nature and of his 
being. 

Let us now jDass from the study of the cube to the 
study and development of the remaining crystal forms. 
The corners of the cube will tend to become planes, the 
faces will tend to represent themselves as points ; more 
especially, the six directions lying about the center and, 
typically, in the six sides of the cube will tend to be- 
come externally visible as edges. The result of this is 
a crystal which has as many faces or sides as the cube 
has comers, as many comers as the cube has sides, and 
as many edges as the cube — viz., a regular octahedron. 
In this form, again, many things that lie invisibly in 
the interior appear outwardly, either directly or typi- 
cally visible, but the exj)lanations given in the study of 
the cube must sulfice to indicate how these things may 
be found. 

The three-times-two perpendicular principal direc- 
tions (three bilateral directions) appear externally in the 
cube as three-times-two sides or planes, in the octahedron 
as three-tiraes-two corners or jpoints : there must be yet 
another crystal form in which they appear as three- 
times-two edges or lines. In the cube the six terminal 
points of the three perpendicular bilateral directions of 
the force appeared as six sides or planes, in the octa- 
hedron they appeared as corners or points : there must 
be another solid in which they appear as edges or lines. 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 1Y7 

and this is the regular tetrahedron. Its nature is suffi- 
cientlj determined by comparison with the cube and 
octahedron, and the interior phases expressed in its 
external appearance are easily found with the help of 
the hints given in the study of the cube. 

[This is illustrated in the following figures : Fig. 1 indicates the 
three pairs of opposite directions (three bilateral directions) in which 
the force operates, constituting the three axes of the cube (Fig. 2), 



I 

! / 

/ i 



\ 

Kig. 1 




Kig- S 




Kig. 3 




Ki, 



the octahedron (Fig. 3), and the tetrahedron (Fig. 4). In Fig. 2 the 
axes terminate in faces ; in Fig. 3 they terminate in points (corners) ; 
and in Fig. 4 the terminal points of one axis lie in edges. — TV*.] 

Thus the study of the necessary results of the force 
acting spherically, and manifesting itself in material 
crystallization, has revealed to us three bodies, bounded 
by straight lines and planes, of which the cube is the 
first, and, as it were, the central one, and the tetrahedron 
and octahedron the two derived bodies. 
18 



178 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

If, now, we survey tlie 

CUBE, OCTAHEDRON, AND TETRAHEDEON 

in their natural position, as shown in our deduction, 
we again behold, in perfect harmony with the course of 
our study, and as a necessary consequence of the oft- 
repeated law of nature, that the atbe rests on a plane, 
the octahedron on a point, and the tetrahedron on a 
line / and in each of the three solids the axis of devel- 
opment coincides wholly with one of the three recipro- 
cally perpendicular principal directions. 

If, then, we consider each of these three solids as 
wholly independent and fixed, each left to itself, seek- 
ing a point of rest and support, we find the cube 
always symmetrically and permanently resting on one 
of its faces, and the axis permanently coinciding with 
one of its pi'incipal directions. On the other hand, 
the octahedron and tetrahedron wiU fall. Thereby 
one of the sides will become its base, and at the 
same time both solids exhibit a new property quite 
peculiar to them : the axis, the vertical or median line 
of the solid, does not coincide with any of the three 
principal directions, but stands at equal angles between 
them. 

Now, inasmuch as the nature of the octahedron 
and tetrahedron lies in the nature of the cube, and inas- 
much as the forms of the octahedron and tetrahedron 
are deducible from that of the cube, the property which 
permits the axis or vertical line to fall at equal angles 
between the three perpendicular principal directions, 
must lie already in the cube. Indeed, it is a direct re- 
sult of the operation of the law of equilibrium ; for the 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. I79 

falling of the octahedron or tetrahedron, by whicli the 
axis or vertical line is brought at equal angles between 
the principal directions, when transferred to the cube, 
will necessarily cause the latter to rise correspondingly. 
This will make the cube seem to rest on one of its cor- 
ners, so that the vertical line or axis passes now from 
one of these corners through the center to the opposite 
corner, no longer coinciding with one of the principal 
directions, but falling at equal angles between them. 
By this change in the position of the axis, the cube has 
been wholly changed internally, and presents exter- 
nally, too, a wholly changed appearance, an entirely 
new form. In its former position the sides seemed 
grouped in sets of two, and the corners and edges in 
sets of two or four, everything seemed to be arranged 
in the order of the even numbers, two and four ; now 
everything seems grouped in sets of three — three sides, 
three edges, three comers. 

Instead of the number two, we have now the num- 
ber three, and a wholly new series of crystal forms 
seems thereby given and determined. However, the 
study and development of these must be postponed for 
the further study and development of the crystal forms 
with three among themselves wholly perpendicular prin- 
cipal directions. 

In itself and in the crystal forms, force manifests 
the tendency to expand corners into edges or sides ; 
the tendency to contract edges into corners or to ex- 
pand them into sides ; the tendency to represent sides 
as edges and corners ; the tendency to render externally 
visible inner concealed and invisible as well as outer 
typical directions, points, lines, and planes ; the tend- 



180 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

ency to represent externally in the crj^stal forms the 
inner, spherical nature of force on all sides equally 
energetic ; the tendency to reach again the spherical 
form in and through these crystal forms. Accordingly, 
starting from the cube, the octahedron, and the tetrahe- 
dron, three series of crystal forms are definitely given. 
These series variously overlap in several directions, but 
through a limited number of principal forms and a still 
measurable number of intermediate forms they again 
approximate sphericity. 

In the formation of all the solids so far considered, 
there were always three equivalent principal directions, 
of relatively equal efficiency in determining the form. 
'Now, the natural tendency of force to operate simulta- 
neously in opposite directions, and the relations of ten- 
sion necessarily induced thereby in the force as well as 
in the matter in which the force operates, necessarily 
lead in the further development of crystal forms to the 
development of differences among the three relatively 
wholly equal and equivalent principal directions : The 
principal direction coinciding with the axis of the crys- 
tal form will become either greater or smaller than the 
two others. 

The series of crystal forms resulting from the first of 
these differences will yield chiefly square prisms and 
elongated octahedrons ; the series resulting from the 
second difference will yield chiefly flat, square prisms 
and flattened octahedrons. (Inasmuch as we are con- 
cerned here only with the necessary inner relations and 
effects of force, we necessarily leave out of consideration 
all differences in the forms of crystals depending on ex- 
ternal conditions of matter.) The development of these 



CniEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 181 

two series of crystal forms proceeds always in forms 
yielding quadruple crystal forms. 

Again, all three principal directions may differ in 
length. The forms resulting from this will be chiefly 
flattened, oblong, four-sided prisms and octahedrons, 
wdth three different sections. The development of this 
series proceeds by twos or multiples of two. Now, the 
development may proceed in such a way as to retain the 
equality of corresponding parts, or one part may develop 
more or less than its mate. The former yields the series 
just described ; the latter gives series of crystals in 
which the parts appear grouped in sets of two-and-one 
or one-and-one. 

The further development of these forms, too, ensues 
in accordance with the natural law and tendency of force 
to develop comers into edges and planes, and vice versa^ 
and thus to represent externally the inner directions in 
spherical forms. Because of the peculiar fundamental 
conditions, all the solids resulting from these develop- 
ments are, too, distinctly peculiar in their appearance 
and structure. 

We have so far considered the principal conditions 
for the study and deduction of all crystal forms with 
three relatively equal principal directions, both in their 
individual characteristics and in their net-like inter- 
relationships. We now proceed to study the crystal 
forms whose structural axis falls symmetrically between 
the three principal directions, and whose fundamental 
form is the cube resting on one of its corners. 

The first examination of the cube in this position 
revealed peculiarities determined by the grouping of its 
parts in sets of three. To these, further consideration 



182 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

will add the following peculiar structural laws and 
properties : 

In the first place, even a superficial observation of 
the cube in this position shows the peculiarity that the 
six limiting planes appear no longer as six regular quad- 
rilaterals with equal diagonals, but as symmetrical quad- 
rilaterals with different diagonals, or as rhombs. At 
the very next step in the development of this series of 
crystal forms, this merely superficial appearance is con- 
firmed by the actual external results of inner conditions. 
Therefore, all the forms of this series limited by six 
equal planes are always limited by six equal rhombs. 
The fundamental form of this series of form, then, is 
the rhombic hexahedron (rhombohedron) ; and the fun- 
damental laws and limitations lying in the rhombohe- 
dron are the fundamental laws and limitations of all the 
following formations. 

The number of crystal forms derived from the 
rhombohedron is large, almost incalculably large. Yet 
they radiate right from the fundamental form in several 
series, each of which is again headed by a principal 
form determined by the character of the fundamental 
form: 

1. The three edges at the basal point and the three 
edges at the vertex, in accordance with the law already 
mentioned, are developed into faces until they mutually 
limit one another. The result is a crystal form bounded 
by twice six faces and twice six equal basal and vertical 
edges, which unite respectively in the vertex and the 
basal point — it is the douhle-jpointed, equal-edged dodeca- 
hedron (double six-sided pyramid). 

2. The lateral edges, in accordance with the inner 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 183 

characteristics, form sloping double faces. The result 
is again a crystal form bounded by twice six faces, which 
unite in the vertex and basal point, but have only the 
alternate edges equal. It is the double-pointed, three- 
and-three-edged dodecahedron (scalene dodecahedi'on). 

3. The development of the lateral corners or edges 
of the rhombohedron or of one or the other dodecahe- 
drons into faces parallel to the axis, and of the terminal 
corners into planes (perpendicular to the axis), yields two 
new crystal forms — two hexagonal prisms with perpen- 
dicular bases. They differ, however, in their inner na- 
ture and in their origin, inasmuch as one of the prisms 
is derived from the lateral edges and the other from the 
lateral corners of the fundamental solid ; they may be 
distinguished as the hexagonal prism derived from the 
edges, and the hexagonal jpr ism derivedfrom the cormers. 

In accordance with this inner connection, the prin- 
cipal forms are related as follows : 

Khombohedron. 



I I 

double six-sided pyramid scalene 

(dodecahedron). dodecahedron. 

I I 

hexagonal prism hexagonal prism 

derived from corners. derived from edges. 

In accordance with the repeatedly enounced and 
applied law of crystallogenic force, and with other 
necessary conditions, the fundamental and principal 
forms derived above from the nature of the force give 
rise in strict progression to all possible forms of the 
rhombic and hexagonal system with constant approach 
to sphericity. 



184 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Thus, in the countless numbers of rhombic and 
hexagonal forms here implied, in connection with the 
cubic forms indicated above, all simple crystal forms are 
implied and determined. This does not exclude other 
still simple forms in which — in accordance with certain 
peculiar conditions in the operation of the crystallogenic 
force — the various forms may appear with variously 
modified dimensions, relatively greater length or breadth 
or thickness. On the other hand, by its very tendency 
toward ever-higher development of crystal forms, the 
crystallogenic force at last reaches so high a degree of 
tension, of inner and outer opposition, that at last even 
the external results show that the tendency to relieve 
this tension and antithesis has become the chief tend- 
ency of the force. 

The first and simplest external manifestation of this 
tendency within the limits of crystallization is seen in 
the formation of crystals in precisely opposite directions. 
The result will be (compound) forms in wliich several 
simple crystals lying in opposite directions are united 
externally in a single form, appearing — when the law 
that unites them can not be unraveled — as capricious 
accumulations. 

These latter formations give rise to a wholly new se- 
ries of compound and cumulated crystals which appear 
to be imitations of higher forms of development, in a 
variety of clustered, protuberant, or globular forms. In 
the last-named accumulation, especially, it seems as if 
the component crystals together succeeded in attaining 
the original spherical form, which singly they could not 
reach. Thus, at this stage of crystallization, too, life ap- 
pears as in a picture ; we see, in spite of all the rigid 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 185 

external separation, an inner living connection, the 
operation of one and tlie same law, as we see it more 
and more clearly at each, successive stage of the develop- 
ment of nature. 

Now, all these forms as external manifestations be- 
long pre-eminently to the world of matter, to the world 
of simply energetic force. Their external unit is the 
sphere. They are all distinguished by the peculiarity 
that their parts are grouped in multiples of two and 
three. The operation of the force in directions grouped 
in multiples of five and seven seems to be wholly ex- 
cluded, since these numbers appear either only subordi- 
nately and irregularly, or accidentally and transiently. 

Furthermore, the material conditions of a crystal are 
the same at all points. There is no necessarily deter- 
mined or determining permanent center. The center 
is only relative, and disappears with the related con- 
ditions. Hence, if the material remains the same, the 
continued operation of the force can increase only the 
mass of the crystal. The energetic force, therefore, ap- 
pears as a simple and not as a complex unity. 

So much for the development and manifestation of 
crystallogenic force within the limits of crystals. Now, 
the nature of force, as a self-active principle equally 
active in all directions, necessarily postulates in the 
crystal as its external manifestation a perceptible point 
in which the force has its seat, from which all its ac- 
tivities proceed, and to which they may be referred. 
But such a point is not found in solid crystals ; indeed, 
it is excluded by the rigidity of the crystal, however 
peremptorily it may be demanded by the natui-e of the 
force that forms the crystal. 



186 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Again, the law of crystallization postulates a mate- 
rial whose crystalline character, whose state of inner 
tension, renders it impossible to develop a crystal cor- 
responding with such a point; for the fact that the 
material is throughout uniform in its constitution ex- 
cludes the predominance of one or several centers of 
force. For the same reason the establishment of such a 
center of force would destroy the crystalline character 
of the material. 

Furthermore, force as such — in order to become an 
independent force — requires in its development a plu- 
rahty of manifestations and activities within the law of 
unity and proceeding from unity. 

The nature of force and its tendency toward com- 
plete development and representation is, therefore, not 
satisfied with mere many-sidedness in its operation ; its 
fundamental tendency imphes an organized community 
of forces, each of which operates self-actively, but to- 
ward a common end lying in unity. 

A force thus organized in itself implies again a mate- 
rial similarly organized in itself. Now, material is so 
organized when, at any point assigned to it by the ac- 
tivity of the force, it adapts itself with equal readiness 
to the requirements of the force, be this in the repre- 
sentation of the general or the particular, of the inner 
or the outer, on any side or in any direction of the force. 

Organized material obeys with perfect freedom and 
without friction in every direction. On the other hand, 
the inner tension of crystalline material excludes this. 
Therefore, organized force completely destroys all crys- 
talline shape of the material and organizes it. Only by 
returning to a perfectly amorphous state, into a state of 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 187 

perfect incolierence and solution, can crystalline material 
become organized. 

Here, too, we have a manifestation of life, we see 
tlie requirements and conditions of highest, most spirit- 
ual life as in a picture. Therefore, at this stage of the 
development of nature, it is so verj necessary for the 
education of self and others to know and to understand 
the essential character of nature. 

§ 73. We notice, at the same time, as an intrinsic 
condition of force, the tendency to exert itself in oppo- 
site directions. ]^ow, we may consider force as proceed- 
ing from a definite demonstrable unity and unfolding a 
'diversity related to that unity. This implies, necessarily, 
alternation in the opposite tendencies of the force ; and, 
as it destroys the crystallinity of the material, it destroys 
at the same time the shmiltaneity of the opposite tend- 
encies, and in the state of the material reveals a surg- 
ing, heaving, swelling of the force. 

In the crystal the o]3posite tendencies of the force 
are simultaneous, in perfect equilibrium : hence the 
rigidity of the crystal. The disturbance of this simul- 
taneity, with the slightest predominance of one or the 
other of the involved tendencies of the force, at once de- 
stroys the rigidity of the crystal, and hence the crystal 
itself, and renders the material earthy, liquid, or gaseous. 

Now, the highest development of force implies its 
greatest exercise of freedom, together with the greatest 
possible simultaneity in opposite directions. It will, 
therefore, have attained this development at the stage 
where the pulsations of opposite tendencies alternate 
most rapidly. This continuity in the pulsations of force, 
together with the continuity of equilibrium in opposite 



188 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

tendencies, we have in life / and the definite demonstra- 
ble point whence these pulsations proceed, from which 
all this self-active life is breathed out, is the hearty the 
hearppoint. 

In perfect accordance with the nature of force, either 
a great number of points, or only a limited number, or 
only one, will tend to become heart-points. This is one 
of the first grounds for the development of distinct liv- 
ing forms. The force tends more and more to render 
itself independent of the material, so that the degree 
of life-expression may no longer depend on the greater 
or smaller mass of material. In accordance with this 
fundamental law, all Hfe-forms are grouped from the 
very beginning in two series. In the first of these, the 
material predominates ; in the second, life predominates. 
The former is properly designated as limtuj (vegetable) ; 
the latter as animate (animal). From this point of 
view, then, all natural objects may be grouped as foUows: 

Simply energetic 
(crystalline). 

Living (Jel)en(I) Animate (Jehendig) 

(vegetable). (animal). 

Since life implies the ever- recurring return of the 
activity to the center of force, or heart-point, and se- 
cures by this return ever again a new lease of external 
existence, all living forms will necessarily groio from 
within outward. 

This necessary inner connection, here and previously 
indicated, among crystalline, vegetable, and animal 
forms, is demonstrated unmistakably also from another 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 189 

poiut of view and in the general law of nature, accord- 
ing to wliich the particular implies the general. 

Now, since the previously recognized attributes of 
force lie necessarily in its nature, they will continue 
with the continuance of the force, and will be unmis- 
takably pronounced in the succeeding stages of develop- 
ment, although in different forms, combinations, or de- 
grees of intensity. This requirement, lying in the very 
nature of the force, will necessarily be manifest in every 
form of the successive stages of development, and is 
the inner determining cause of each of these forms. 
While, therefore, in the crystals, circular and spherical 
forms seemed to be secondary and, as it were, acci- 
dental, they now appear to be essential ; with this dif- 
ference, however, that among the vegetable forms radia- 
tion and surface expansion predominate, whereas among 
the animal forms roundness and sphericity prevail. 

Now, as organized force necessarily implies organ- 
ized material, both imply an organized form. Hence 
the vegetable forms in which life still appears subordi- 
nate to the material will have a more radiate character, 
approximating the la,w of crystal forms, but in an en- 
hanced, organized, living state. Therefore, we see in 
many plants the expression of the regularity of crystal 
forms, more particularly in the numerical relations of 
parts. 

Zahl (number), as is indicated by many obsolete 
words and phrases, signifies originally the extremity, 
the end.* Therefore, the numerical relations in plants 
are so important, because they indicate, as it were, the 

* ZaM is related to the English words tale^ tell, but not to tail (zagl), 
as Froebel seems to assume. — Tr. 
19 



1<J0 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

ends of tlie directions of force to wliicb crystal forms, 
as well as successive higher forms, owe their peculiari- 
ties. As the binary crystal forms are characterized by 
great simplicity, so we lind a simihir simplicity among 
binary plant-forms, as compared with ternary plant- 
forms. 

In binary plants this law is clearly manifest in the 
position of the leaves as well as in the form of the 
stem, etc. The peculiar numerical relations are also al- 
ways accompanied by other constant peculiarities ; and 
each particular numerical expression is constantly at- 
tended by certain particular inner properties. Thus, 
nearly all binary plants exhale very strongly aromatic 
odors, etc. 

The life-forms, however, are by no means satisfied 
with ever more characteristic representation of the 
original directions, and the resulting numerical relations 
that yield crystal forms. By the removal of external 
tension the inner energy has been raised into life-en- 
ergy, and higher activities must become manifest in 
the formations. Therefore, among vegetable as well 
as among animal life-forms, we observe soon the preva- 
lence of numerical relations based on the number five, 
which play in crystals a very subordinate part, and 
appear only accidentally, as it were, and transiently. 

Since, in all natural objects, the appearance of 
quinary relations marks very characteristic activities, it 
comes fraught with remarkable symbolism and signifi- 
cance. 

In the vegetable kingdom these quinary relations 
rarely appear in perfect regularity — i. e., with all the 
units respectively equal or equivalent in position, fonn, 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 191 

and significance ; and, when they are regular externally, 
they are so variable that the regularity is perfectly 
maintained in a few cases only. This proves clearly its 
origin in the liberated energy of force — in the tendency 
of force, now lifted into life, to represent each relation 
independently. 

Inasmuch as the representation of the numbers five 
and seven in independent and continuous development 
is excluded from the realm of simply energetic force, 
and inasmuch as every succeeding development of force- 
activity must be derived from simply energetic force, 
it follows that quinary and septenary relations can 
originate only from a subdivision or contraction of 
numerical relations lying within the realm of simply 
energetic force. 

This is actually the fact. Quinary forms appear in 
the vegetable kingdom either in consequence of the 
subdivision of one of the principal directions of quater- 
nary or binary forms, or in consequence of the combi- 
nation of two principal directions of ternary forms. 
Is'early all quinary plant-forms show this to be the case. 

It appears, then, that plants, which in their blos- 
soms show scarcely any variation in the number five, 
are to be considered as truly quinary; that binary 
plants, which have the parts of their blossoms in fives, 
show the five as two, two, and one, inasmuch as this 
five results from the bisection of one of the four equiva- 
lent directions. Therefore, two of the parts will always 
belong together, and one will stand alone. Such plants, 
then, appear as representations of the law of two and 
two (binary law), passing into that of two, two, and 
one, etc. 



192 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

In general, the quinary forms and combinations pro- 
ceeding from the binary law are the most varied, as is 
shown in plants with alternate leaves. The lost equi- 
librium between the two twos is regained only with 
great difficulty. 

It is different with the character of quinary forms 
appearing in ternary j)lants. Here it is not a bisection, 
but the union of two principal directions that yields the 
five ; and the peace and calmness resulting from this 
union are manifest in the simpKcity of the blossoms, as 
is seen in the rose, etc. 

The number five, then, appears in nature and 
among life-forms as uniting the character of the num- 
bers two and three; both in bisection and union, it 
appears as three and two. Hence, as developed under 
the influence of life-force, it is truly the number of 
analytic and synthetic life, representing reason, unceas- 
ing self -development, self-elevation ; for, the higher the 
stage of development reached by the life-forms, the 
more persistent is this number. 

Among vegetable forms, almost regular quinary ar- 
rangements of parts are found in plants that are capable 
of the greatest cultivation and variation, as is seen in 
the various fruit-plants that yield pomes and drupes 
(such as the apple, pear, cherry, etc.), as well as in the 
tropical fruits. 

The former may be varied indefinitely. The same may 
be observed in roses, quinary plants derived from ternary 
relations ; their varieties, too, may be increased indefi- 
nitely. Similarly, each locality yields its own variety of 
potatoes, although so many varieties have been developed 
in the few years of our acquaintance with this plant. 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 193 

Again, the plants in whose flowers the parts appear 
ahnost regularly in quinary sets, are most easily propa- 
gated, improved, and induced to bear double flowers, as 
is seen in roses, pinks, primroses, and buttercups. 

Thus, wherever the number five appears, there is 
unmistakable evidence of a higher phase of life, which, 
through bisection or union of the parts implied by rigid 
law, calls forth this number. 

Starting, not from the external features of the num- 
ber, but rather from the innermost essential condition 
on which all variations and relations of numbers depend, 
the following additional considerations force themselves 
upon our notice : 

The binary crystal fonns, essentially simple and mani- 
festing little variation of energy, resemble the difl^er- 
ent species of feelings ; on the other hand, the ternary 
crystal forms, in their continuous external subdivision 
into ever-new forms, resemble forms of the understand- 
ing and of knowledge. As, in the ternary crystals, 
the structural axis is distinct from each of the three 
fundamental directions and placed independently at 
equal angles among them, their development through 
external subdivision and external union continues almost 
indefinitely. Therefore, the ternary form can subdivide 
the most subtile things ; even Hght must submit to its 
analytic power, as in calcareous spar and in the three- 
sided prism — an artificial ternary form. 

Therefore, the falling of the crystal from the bi- 
nary into the ternary law of development i-eserables the 
falling, or — since the result is the same — the ascent of 
the mind of man from simple, uniform emotional de- 
velopment into the development of externally analytic 



194 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

and critical reason ; for the ternary law, too, first intro- 
duces us to the external knowledge of crystal forms as- 
cending in the scale of development. 

Concerning the peculiar nature and eifects of living 
force, the vegetable world shows the following facts : 
Throughout the various stages of upward development 
of the same living force in a plant, each part of the 
whole seems to possess the whole force only in a different 
degree of development ; hence it is so frequently possible 
to produce the whole plant from a single part — from a 
shoot, a bud, a leaf, a fragment of the root. Hence, 
too, is derived the distinct fundamental law of vegeta- 
ble life that each successive stage of development is 
a higher growth of the preceding one — e. g., the petals 
are transformed ordinary leaves, the stamens and pistils 
transformed petals. Each successive formation presents 
the essential nature of tlie plant in a more subtile garb, 
until at last it seems clothed only in a delicate perfume. 
The inner — having thus become almost wholly external 
— is taken up by the ovary, and again becomes internal. 
From the beginning to the time of blossoming, the hfe 
of the plant is an upward and outward unfolding ; from 
this to the time of full maturity of the fruit, it is an 
exalted withdrawing. 

Plant-forms, then, exhibit the (inner) force not only 
in multiplied diversity, but also in a state of progres- 
sive changes. Hence, too, when tlie (inner) force re- 
cedes, we notice quite frequently a retrogression of a 
later to an earlier form of development — e. g., the 
retrogression of petals to sepals, and of these to ordi- 
nary leaves ; the retrogression of stamens and pistils to 
petals, so frequent in roses, poppies, mallows, tulips, 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. I95 

etc. As an instance of progressive transformation, we 
have the artificial change of the caljx to the corolla, 
with the aid of favorable position and food — e. g., in 
the garden primrose. 

We see, then, that the essential nature of the whole 
plant lies in some peculiar manner in each individual 
part of the plant. ]^ow, the first tendency of every- 
thing and of every plant is toward the all-sided repre- 
sentation of its individuality. This tendency toward 
sphericity seems to be most fully restrained in the 
leaves. Therefore, it is frequently noticed, though not 
in the leaves alone, that after some injury the seemingly 
unfettered tendency toward spherical representation ap- 
pears in the accessory formations ; this is seen very 
beautifully in the rose-gall on injured rose-leaves. 

Thus the plant seemingly represents the nature of 
life-force in external quiescence. Therefore, from this 
point of view, plants appear as the blossoms of nature ; 
and as among plants, after the period of blossoming, the 
essential nature of the plant withdraws inwardly, thus, 
on the next stage of natural development — the stage of 
animal hfe — all external diversity is again gathered up 
in an inner unity, as it were in a kernel or seed, in 
spherical forms. Therefore, the lowest animals in their 
simple, spherical shapes resemble seeds endowed with 
animal life. 

Thus, inasmuch as the law of the individual part is 
repeated in the whole, the totality of all nmndane 
forms, although but a small part of the great universe, 
is nevertheless, relatively, a great, individual, organized, 
and organic whole. The animals, too, constitute again 
a great organic whole, seemingly one living form : this 



196 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

is manifest in the great general laws of nature that con- 
trol the totality and apply distinctly in individual cases. 

Thus, the quinary law, the necessary condition of 
higher life, one with the appearance of life on earth and 
inseparable from that Hfe, is expressed with increased 
vitality in all animals ; this is evident in the earliest 
forms, with the first appearance of animal life, as is 
shown by the remains of perished ages, and this fun- 
damental law accompanies animal life in all its varied 
combinations and differentiations. Even in the human 
being, in whom life appears lifted into perfect spirit- 
uality, the number five is an essential attribute of his 
hand, man's principal member, his principal instrument 
in formative, creative activity, etc. 

Another great, universally diffused law of nature, 
particularly well pronounced in the whole animal king- 
dom, and again representing the animal kingdom as a 
whole in relative individuality, is the law that makes the 
external internal, and vice versa. Thus we find the 
first animals having soft bodies, living in houses almost 
wholly composed of stone, almost wholly independent 
of the animals, and only externally inclosing their bod- 
ies as if they were foreign, separate things. Neverthe- 
less, the existence of the animals depends on their fixed 
calcareous dwelling-place. Later on the animals appear 
detached, free, no longer like plants fixed in one point ; 
they and their stony coverings are firmly united in 
growth, the solid covering incloses the body like a 
solid rind. 

In succeeding (higher) animal forms, the half-gristly, 
half-stony covering unites more and more fully with 
the body of the animal, and at last disappears externally. 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 19 7 

It sinks into the flesh, as it were ; and, in the measure 
in which it disappears outwardly, it becomes in fish 
and amphibia an inner cartilaginous skeleton, with re- 
siduary scales on the surface of the body. 

In the still higher forms, this cartilaginous skeleton 
is transformed more and more into a solid, bony skele- 
ton, and the muscular mass, formerly inclosed in a stony 
covering, now incloses the stony bones. What, in low- 
er forms, was external is now internal ; what was in- 
ternal is now, in the perfected animal, external. 

Again, the great law of equilibrium is manifested 
with special distinctness in the animal world. By this 
law a relatively determinate quantity of force dwells in 
each hfe-form, and a relatively determinate quantity of 
material is required for each body and for each kind of 
its organs ; consequently, if this material is used pre- 
dominantly on one side in the formation of the body or 
of its organs, the development of the body or similar 
organs on the other side will suffer, and one organ or 
side wiU grow at the expense of the other. Thus, in 
fish, the trunk of the body is developed at the expense 
of the limbs. 

The operation of this law appears most clearly if the 
human form in its symmetrical development is taken as 
the criterion. If we compare, for instance, the arm and 
hand of man with the wing of a bird, we see clearly 
that certain parts or organs are developed at the ex- 
pense of others. 

§ T4:. Thus, the forms of nature in all their diversity, 
in all the stages of their development, result from the 
operation of one and the same force. Primarily this 
force appears as a unity, is clearly and fully pronounced 



19S THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

in completely individualized life, but is externally re- 
vealed in universal and all-sided application only in the 
varied forms of nature, tlie possibility of whose repre- 
sentation is imj)lied in the force. Here, too, is con- 
firmed the great and universal truth that only in triune 
representation, only in unity, individuality, and diversity 
can each form of nature completely and perfectly ex- 
press its inner being. 

We have in this a new confirmation of the law of 
development of crystals, the passing from special-sided- 
ness to all-sidedness, from imperfection to perfection — 
as the law of all development in nature. Man, then, ap- 
pears as the last and most perfect earthly being, in whom 
all that is corporeal appears in highest equilibrium and 
sjnnmetry, and in whom the primordial force is fully 
spiritualized, so that man feels, understands, and knows 
his own power. But, while man externally and cor- 
poreally has attained equilibrium and symmetry of form, 
there heave and surge in him — viewed as a spiritual be- 
ing — appetites, desires, passions. As in the world of 
crystals we noticed the heaving and surging of simple 
energy, and in the vegetable and animal worlds the 
heaving and surging of living forces, so here the heav- 
ing and surging of spiritual forces. 

Therefore, man, with reference to spiritual develop- 
ment has returned to a first stage, as crystals are in the 
first stage with reference to the development of life. 
Therefore, again, a knowledge of the laws of crystal and 
life forms is so highly important in the education of self 
and others ; it teaches and guides, gives light and peace. 
For this reason, the boy — the learning human being — 
should at an early period be taught to see nature in all 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 199 

her diversity as a unit, as a great living whole, as one 
thought of God. The integrity of nature as a con- 
tinuously self-developing whole must be shown him at 
an early period. Without a knowledge of this unity 
in the activities and forms of nature, it is impossible 
to attain or to impai-t a genuine knowledge of natural 
history. 

This unity the boy's mind seeks at an early period ; 
it alone satisfies him (see §45). Go with a genuire boy 
into open nature, show the diverse natural objects, and he 
will soon ask you to indicate to him the higher, causal, 
living unity. While I write this, it is corroborated by 
constantly recurring questions from boys who have just 
entered upon this stage of development and who are 
interested in natural objects. All fragmentary study of 
nature, so different from the study of individual objects 
with reference to the unity that embraces all, deprives 
natural objects and nature of Kfe and impairs the vigor 
of the human mind. 

§ 75. These few hints for the study of nature as a 
whole must suffice here. They are simply intended to 
guide the father or teacher in leading the pupil to a 
knowledge of the universal application of the same law 
in all the various stages of natural development, to the 
apprehension of unity in diversity and of nature as a 
living organism. The inner connection among the ac- 
tivities and ol)jects of nature has here been indicated 
only in general and only in one direction (that of form). 
Similarly, nature must be shown to the pupil as an or- 
ganized and organic whole in all directions; for the 
various forces, materials, sounds, colors, etc., have — like 
the forms — their inner unity, their living inner con. 



200 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

nection in and among themselves and with the whole. 
Indeed, in their perfect development, all depend on the 
influence of the same great, uniting, causal, natural ob- 
jects, on the sun, which calls into being and sustains all 
earthly life. It almost seems as if all earthly things 
simply revealed the nature of sunlight ; eagerly all turn 
toward the sun, absorb the sunlight, hang upon his rays 
as the cliildren hang upon the words and looks of father 
and mother — of the father wlio teaches in love, of the 
mother who sustains and strengthens their development. 
As the development and improvement of the children 
are affected by the presence or absence of pure parental 
love, of perfect parental spirit, so the development and 
improvement of earthly things — the children of sun and 
earth, as it were — depend on the presence or absence 
of sunlight. Thus, earthly things, as a whole, repre- 
sent externally, visibly, and in manifold diversity the 
nature of sunlight, which in the sun is seen as a unity ; 
and the knowledge of one leads to the knowledge of 
the other. 

Thus, father and son, teacher and pupil, parent and 
child, walk together in one great living universe. Let 
not teacher or parent object that he himself is as yet 
ignorant of this. Not the communication of knowledge 
already in their possession is the task, but the calling 
forth of new knowledge. Let them observe, lead their 
pupils to observe, and render themselves and their pupils 
conscious of their observations. 

An apprehension of the imiversality of law in 
nature, of her unity, does not require special technical 
terms for the objects or their attributes, but plain and 
accurate observation and accurate naming of these things 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 201 

in accordance with the character of language and of the 
thing named. 

In rendering the boy familiar with natural objects 
we are by no means concerned with the teaching of 
names nor of preconceived views and opinions, but only 
with presenting the tilings themselves with their ob- 
vious attributes in such a way that the boy may view 
each object as the definite individual object it reveals 
itself to be in its form, etc. 

Even the knowledge of a previously given or gener- 
ally accepted name is unimportant ; only the clear and 
distinct apprehension and the correct naming of the 
general and particular attributes are important. We 
may give the object a wholly provincial name, or — if 
we have not this — we may give it a name suggested by 
the moment, or, better still, we may name it by circum- 
locution, until in some way we find out the generally 
accepted name. Through such endeavors we shall soon 
learn the generally accepted name, and thus be enabled 
to harmonize our knowledge with the general knowl- 
edge, and to correct and supplement it with the latter. 

Let not the teacher of a country school object that 
he knows nothing about natural objects, not even their 
names. Even if he has had the scantiest education, by 
a diligent observation of nature he may gain a deeper 
and more thorough, more living, intrinsic, and extrinsic 
knowledge of natural objects in their diversity and in- 
dividuality, than he can acquire from ordinary availa- 
ble books. 

Besides, that so-called higher knowledge rests, ordi- 
narily, on phenomena and observations within the reach 
of the plainest man, observations which frequently — if 
20 



202 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

he know liow to use his eyes — come to him with little 
or no expense, in greater beanty than the costliest ex- 
periment could yield them. But to this he must bring 
himself by continued observation ; to this he must let 
himself be brought by the boys and youths around him. 

Parents should not be timid, should not object that 
they know nothing themselves and do not know how to 
teach their children. If they desire to know something, 
their ignorance is not the greatest evil. Let them imi- 
tate the child's example ; let them become children with 
the child, learners with the learner; let them go to 
father and mother, and with the child be taught by 
Mother JS'ature and by the fatherly spirit of God in 
nature. The spirit of God and nature will guide them. 

One of the purposes of the college, indeed, is to 
open the inner eye for outer and inner truths ; but it 
were sad for humanity if only those who go to college 
should learn to see. On the other hand, if parents and 
teachers teach children at an early period to see and 
think, colleges would again become what they ought to 
become, viz., schools for the study of the highest and 
most spiritual truths ; schools for the representation of 
these in the life of the students ; schools of wisdom. 

From every point, from every object of nature and 
life, there is a way to God. Only hold fast the point, 
and keep steady on the way, gather strength from the 
conviction that nature must necessarily have not only 
an external, general cause, but an inner living cause, 
efficient in the most trivial detail ; that it proceeds from 
one Being, one Creator, one God, in accordance with 
the self-evident, necessary law by which the temporal 
is an expression of the eternal, the corporeal a raaiii- 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 203 

festation of the spiritual. You can not fail, then, to 
see the general in the particular, and the particular in 
the general. 

The things of nature form a more beautiful ladder 
between heaven and earth than that seen by Jacob ; not 
a one-sided ladder leading in one direction, but an all- 
sided one leading in all directions. Not in dreams is it 
seen ; it is permanent ; it surrounds us on all sides. It is 
decked with flowers, and angels with children's eyes 
beckon us toward it ; it is solid, resting on a floor of 
crj^stals; the inspired singer, David, praises and glori- 
fies it. 

Would you have a fixed point, a reliable guide in all 
this diversity ? It is given you in number (see §§ 38, 99). 
Number leads you on a reliable path ; for it is deter- 
mined by the external manifestations of the directions 
of inner energy. In the most direct way, it reveals the 
innermost nature of force, if you wiU but behold it 
with the keen eye of the boy, with the simple mind 
and heart of the child. 

Let the boy's eye and mind be your guide, for you 
may know that a simple natural boy will not be satisfied 
with half-truths and false notions. Follow his questions 
thoughtfully — they will teach you and him. For they 
come from the mind of a child, and surely father and 
mother can answer a child's questions. 

You object that children and boys ask more than 
parents and adults can answer. This is true. Either 
you stand at the limit of earthly things and at the 
threshold of divine things (if so, say so plainly; the 
child's or boy's spirit will be satisfied), or you stand 
at the limit of your knowledge and experience. Do 



204: THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

not hesitate to say so; but beware of saying in this 
case that you stand at tlie limit of human knowledge 
in general — this would dwarf and stunt the human 
mind. 

In such cases, examine the life within you, compare 
it with the life around you, lead your pupil to make the 
same comparison, and you and he will, in due time, find 
the answer to your question. You will see clearly, with 
the inner eye, the reliable and unequivocal answer 
which you seek. Thus you will clearly see God in his 
works ; your earthly longings will be appeased ; what- 
ever of peace and good-cheer, whatever of consolation 
and help you may require in times of need, you will 
find in your own souls. 

§ 76. Man needs a fixed point and a safe guide in 
the study of the inner connection of all this manifold 
diversity in nature. What can furnish a more reliable 
and uniting starting-point in this than that which ap- 
pears as the source from which all diversity develops 
itself, the visible expression of all law and obedience to 
law, viz., mathematics, which, on account of this great 
exhaustive property, was from the very beginning so 
named — mathematics — i. e., the science of learning. 

As a phenomenon of both the inner and outer world 
(of the macrocosm and microcosm), mathematics be- 
longs equally to man and nature. Mathematics, as pro- 
ceeding from a i?riori laws of thought, as the visible 
expression of thought and its laws, finds the phenom- 
ena, combinations, and forms logically deduced from 
these laws, again in the outer world independently es- 
tablished. 

Similarly, man finds again in himself, in the laws of 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 205 

his thouglit, the same diversity of forms which in na- 
ture are developed independent of him. Mathematics 
thus appears as a mediator between man and nature, be- 
tween the inner and the outer world, between thought 
and perception. 

This great mission, coexistent with the differentia- 
tion of inner and outer world, with the law of cause and 
effect, has secured for mathematics the high rank which 
it has enjoyed through all ages. Because of this, too, it 
could be seen in its true character and assigned its true 
place only by Christianity. Only the Christian who sees 
in all things the outgoings of the One Divine Spirit, 
can possibly appreciate its true character ; for only the 
Christian can understand the unity of the purely spirit- 
ual {a priori) forms with the forms of nature. Only 
he can solve the question whether mathematics has been 
deduced from natural phenomena, or whether natural 
objects were formed after laws of human thought, and 
have an existence only in these laws. For does not the 
same One Divine Spirit live and work in man and in na- 
ture ? Are not man and nature the creatures of the 
same one God ? Must we not, on this account, neces- 
sarily find unity and harmony and obedience to the 
same law in the spirit of nature and in the spirit of 
man, in external forms and forces, and in internal for- 
mation and thought ? 

Therefore, it is possible to study nature in her forms 
and organisms, and with the help of the formulated 
laws of human thought, in mathematics. 

For this reason mathematics mediates, unites, gen- 
erates knowledge ; it is not dead, self-Hmited, a certain 
sum of separate forms and truths found separately and 



206 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

accidentally and put on file, but it is a living whole, 
continually regenerating itself anew, strictly keeping 
pace in its development with the development of the 
human mind with reference to unity and diversity, and 
insight and contemplation ; for it is the visible expres- 
sion of thought, the expression of obedience to law in 
the spiritual as such, and therefore in this respect an 
organism, a product of necessity and freedom. 

Mathematics is, then, neither foreign to actual life 
nor something deduced from life ; it is the expression 
of life as such : therefore its nature may be studied in 
life, and life may be studied with its help. 

Inasmuch as thought and its laws themselves pass 
from unity to diversity or all-sidedness, and, although 
apparently starting with a diversity (something exter- 
nal), yet always refer to some remote or obscure unity 
(something primarily internal), mathematics, too, passes 
necessarilj'^ from unity to diversity or all-sidedness ; and, 
although externally and apparently it proceeds from 
individuality and diversity, yet a necessary inner unity 
underhes all its deductions. 

All mathematical forms and figures should, there- 
fore, be viewed as proceeding from the laws lying in 
the sphere and circle, and referred to these as their 
unity ; the sphere itself, however, is to be regarded as 
proceeding from unity with its own self-active energy 
(see § 68). 

Mathematical forms and figures should not, there- 
fore, be considered as put together in accordance with 
external, arbitrary causes, but as the necessary outcome 
of a self-active, inner force, acting in all directions 
from a central point. They are not, in the very first 



CHIEF GKOUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 207 

instruction, to be considered as separate things, but in 
their necessary inner connection ; even if we do start 
with individual and diverse forms and figures, we 
should always refer them to this ever-present and ever- 
active unity which may be likened to their soul. 

Mathematics is the expression of the inner cause 
and of the outer limitations and properties of space. 
As it originates in unity, it is in itself a unity ; and, as 
space implies diversity in direction, shape, and exten- 
sion, it follows that number, form, and magnitude mu- 
tually imply one another, and are an inseparable three 
in unity. 

Now, number is the expression of diversity as such, 
and, indeed, the expression of the inner cause of diver- 
sity, of the directions of energy ; it does not result from 
dead, external addition, but from living inner laws that 
lie in the very nature of force. On the other hand, 
form and magnitude find their explanation only in di- 
versity. It follows from this that a knowledge of num- 
ber is first and most essential to a knowledge of the 
triune whole ; that a knowledge of number is the foun- 
dation of a knowledge of form and magnitude — of a 
general knowledge of space. 

Space itself, however, is by no means dead and sta- 
tionary, but owes its existence to the constant operation 
of inner absolute energy. And, as space owes its ex- 
istence to the cause and primordial law of all existing 
things, it follows that the universal laws of space under- 
lie all that manifests itself in space and the laws of 
thought and knowledge themselves. 

Mathematics should be treated more physically and 
dynamically, as the outcome of nature and energy. 



208 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

This would make it even more instructive, more profit- 
able than we even now anticipate, not only in the 
study of nature, especially in her chemical (material) 
structure, but also in the study of the nature and opera- 
tion of the spiritual, of the laws of thought and feel- 
ing. This is especially true of the study of curves, of 
the spherical, and the hke. 

Education without mathematics (at least without a 
thorough knowledge of numbers, supplemented by occa- 
sional instruction in form and magnitude) is, therefore, 
weak, imperfect patchwork; it interposes insuperable 
limits to the normal culture and development of man. 
Unable to free himself from his inner longing for prog- 
ress, man attempts to leap over these, or, weary of his 
fruitless endeavors, seeks to suppress the energy of his 
powers ; for the mind and mathematics are as insepar- 
able as the soul and religion. 

C. Language. 

§ 77. What, now, is language^ the third of the fulcra 
of boy-life and of hmnan life in general, and what re- 
lation does it hold to the other two ? 

Wherever there is true inner connection, true inner 
and living reciprocity, there appears a relation similar 
to that of unity, individuality, and diversity. This ap- 
plies, too, to religion, nature, and language. In religion, 
the aspiration of the soul which is directed tovv'ard unity 
in man, prevails and seeks the fruition of its hopes. In 
the contemplation of nature and mathematics, the aspi- 
ration of intelligence, which refers to individuality in 
man, prevails and seeks cei'tainty. In language, the de- 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 209 

mand of reason which refers to diversity and unites all 
diversity, prevails and seeks satisfaction. Religion is a 
living in the soul that finds and feels the One in All ; 
nature studies individualities in nature, in themselves 
and in their relations to one another and to the whole ; 
and language represents the unity of all diversity, the 
inner living connection of all things. These three, 
therefore, fonn an inseparable unity, and the one-sided, 
fragmentary development of one or the other of them 
necessarily produces one-sidedness and, with this, finally, 
the annihilation, or at least destruction, of unity in 
man. 

Religion strives to manifest and does manifest })e- 
ing ', nature strives to manifest and does manifest 
energy^ the cause of its action and this action itself ; 
language strives to manifest and does manifest life as 
such and as a whole. 

Religion, nature — (Mathematics represents, as it 
were, the tendency, laws, and causes of nature in man ; 
mathematics represents nature as, in accordance with 
her necessary causes, she must lie in the mind of man ; 
without mathematics man could obtain no knowledge 
of nature ; with it he can see her more fully and har- 
moniously than her external phenomena would warrant) 
— rehgion, nature (mathematics), and language in all 
their diverse relations have the same one mission and 
purpose, to reveal the inner ; to make the internal ex- 
ternal, the external internal, and to show both the in- 
ternal and external in their natural, primordial, neces- 
sary harmony and union. 

Whatever, therefore, is true of one of the three will 
necessarily be relatively true also of the other two. 



210 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Whatever lias been said heretofore of religion and na- 
ture (with mathematics), if it is only in itself true, must 
apply to language in the peculiar way determined by 
the character of language. 

Therefore, unfortunately for humanity as a whole, 
we are confronted in life, as one of the greatest ob- 
stacles to the development of the three, by the illusion 
that each may have an independent existence and reach 
perfection in its development ; that we may have lan- 
guage without religion and nature (mathematics), etc. 

But as it was necessary that God, desiring to reveal 
himself unequivocally in the fullness and integrity of 
his being, should do so in the triune manner indicated 
(see § 61) ; so, too, religion, nature (mathematics), and lan- 
guage constitute an integral unity. A complete knowl- 
edge and firm confidence in the one necessarily implies 
complete knowledge and firm confidence in the other ; 
a true study of the one necessarily implies also the true 
study of the other. 

]^ow, since man is destined to know and to see 
clearly (see § 78), human education requires the knowl- 
edge and appreciation of religion, nature (mathematics), 
and language in their intimate living reciprocity and 
mutual causality. Without the knowledge and appreci- 
ation of the intimate unity of the three, the school and 
we ourselves are lost in the fallacies of bottomless, self- 
producing diversity 

Such is the nature of language and its relation to 
man and his education. We shall now inquire how 
language itself manifests and corroborates this in its 
structure. 

§ 78. In general, language is the self-active outward 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 211 

expression of the inner. This is shown in the word 
sjprecherh^ s-prechen * — i. e., to break one's self. As the 
breaking of a thing makes knoM'n its inner structure, as 
the opening (breaking-up) of a bud reveals the inner 
structure of the blossom, so the speaker self-activelj re- 
veals, expresses what is within him. 

Now, the innermost (soul) of man is constantly mov- 
ing life, therefore the attributes and phenomena of life 
must be revealed in human speech. Hence, perfect 
human language, as a continuous representative of the 
innermost soul of man, must manifest itself through the 
most mobile medium and by the slightest movements ; 
it necessarily must be audible. 

A man's speech should be, as it were, his self in its 
integrity, and that it may reveal him all-sidedly and 
continuously in greatest mobility. It will, then, inas- 
much as man is a product of nature, reveal also the 
character of natm-e as a whole. It will become an 
image of man's inner and outer world. 

!N^ow, the soul of man, like the soul of nature, is 
law, necessity, spiritual, eternal — the Divine revealing 
itself in the external and through the external. There- 
fore, language must reveal this law in and through it- 
self ; it must be the expression of necessary conformity 
to law. All the laws of the inner and outer world, col- 
lectively and singly, must be revealed in language, must 
lie in language itself. 



* In this case Froebel's play on the word comes nearer to truth. 
Sprechen, by the loss of r becomes in English speak, and is traceable to a 
root which sicjnifies to break, to splii, to scatter, etc. Ho looks here upon 
s-prechen as Sich brechen, to break one's self which, however, belongs to 
another root. — Tr. 



212 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

§ 79. Language, like mathematics, lias two sides ; it 
belongs both to the inner and to the outer world. 

Language as evolved from man proceeds, therefore, 
directly from the human mind ; it is the expression of 
the human mind, as nature is the expression of the divine 
mind. 

The question whether language be a simple product 
of the mind or an imitation of nature is due to the 
adaptation of language to both views, an adajjtation due 
to the fact that in all things the same Divine Spirit, the 
same spiritual, divine laws operate ; to the fact that the 
spirit of nature and that of man are one, that they have 
the same source, which is God. 

As language is an exjDression of man and nature, and 
therefore of the Spirit of God, it implies, too, a knowl- 
edge of nature and of man, and therefore a revelation 
of God. 

Viewed in the light of the study of nature, language 
is an expression of energy Kfted into life ; viewed in the 
light of the study of man, it is the expression of the 
human mind Hfted into consciousness. Language, there- 
fore, must be born as the spirit of man enters conscious- 
ness, and is inseparably one with this spirit. 

The mediatory character of language implies both 
physical and mathematical attributes, attributes of life 
and of motion. Hence, in its ultimate word-elements — 
in its vowels, semi-vowels, and consonants, and in the 
letters that represent these — language expresses the 
fundamental attributes and relations of the natural as 
well as the operations of the spiritual. 

However imperfect and fragmentary our objective 
knowledge of language may be, it clearly reveals the 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 213 

inner life that pervades language in its minutest fibers, 
and renders it a complete organism. In spite of this 
imperfection and fragmentariness of our experiments 
and knowledge, however, we can not repress the con- 
viction, corroborated at every step, that in every lan- 
guage — primarily in our mother-tongue (German) — the 
sound and letters in their combinations express definite 
and fixed mathematical, physical, physio-psychical laws, 
resting on inner necessity ; that the representation of 
an object, viewed from a certain standpoint, by a word, 
necessarily demands certain sounds and letters and no 
others, so that each word is the necessary product of 
certain word-elements, just as each material chemical 
product is the result of the combination of certain de- 
terminate elementary substances. 

In other words, the word-elements in their various 
combinations represent, as in a picture, the natural ob- 
jects, the forms of the mind and their relations in ac- 
cordance with their innermost nature and the personal 
or national view of them. 

Only a moderate attention to the conformity to law, 
manifest everywhere in the natural and spiritual, physi- 
cal and psychical world, forces upon us this conformity 
to law in the formation of the words of our language. 
The inner conformity to law and, as it were, the vitahty 
primarily of our German language admit of no doubt 
in him who is himself animated by its inner life and 
unity, although little can be definitely said about this, 
particularly in the dull forms of written language. 

Well might this deter us from asserting this con- 
formity to law in language, but we are here in the pre- 
dicament of the musical amateur deficient in musical 
2] 



214 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

culture. Altliongh lie knows and can say but little con- 
cerning musical laws, and still less compose anything in 
accordance with these laws, he sees necessity and con- 
formity to law at every step of a great musical produc- 
tion in spite of all its apparent freedom. Even one 
wholly without musical culture who may hear that 
music is rejoiced by it, although he has not the slightest 
notion of the law, and can hold fast only the coarse 
rhythmic phases, at best. 

Similarly we may say of forms, colors, materials, 
and forces, that we are surrounded by their diversity 
and their various effects on us and others, without any 
notion or knowledge of their inner unity and conformity 
to law ; but our inability to know and see them does not 
affect the existence of these laws. 

The same is true of our mother-tongue and the 
more subtle laws of word-structure. It is true of our 
mother-tongue, because we speak it from the first dawn 
of self -consciousness. Therefore, it seems to us a mere 
heap of sounds, or, at best, with reference to its visible 
individual words and roots, a collection of motley stones 
and beautiful flowers from which we can make bouquets 
and a variety of jewels. The words, in their first be- 
ginnings, their so-called roots, seem to be adventitious 
material not subject to higher causes of production. 

But as an organized musical whole proceeds from 
elementary sounds, as an organized material whole pro- 
ceeds from elementary substances, and as shapes pro- 
ceed from elementary directions of forces, so in lan- 
guage the words as images of objects and as expressions 
of ideas are organized wholes proceeding from simpler 
elements. 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 215 

The elements of words (visibly, the letters) are, 
therefore, by no means without life, forming words by 
arbitrary or accidental contiguity; but they designate 
originally and necessarily elementary notions, having 
mathematical, physical, and psychical phases ; they have 
a meaning, and in the formation of words they obey 
necessary laws of co-ordination. Every object, attribute, 
relation, etc., appears as an organized concept, the prod- 
uct of certain elementary notions by whose intimate 
mutual union the word is formed. 

[^Translator's Synoj)sis. — Here follow in Froebel's 
book a number of more or less fanciful illustrations 
of the operation of this law, all taken from the Ger- 
man language. Even in the German language, how- 
ever, the operation of the law is nearly concealed or 
obliterated by other influences, and complicated by dif- 
ferences in "points of view" that may have prevailed 
among different tribes in the formation of different 
words for different ideas. In the English language 
these disturbing influences are notoriously much great- 
er, so that it would be difficult to render Froebel's 
illustrations intelligible to the English reader in all 
their details. This is particularly true of illustrations 
in which vowel-sounds are concerned, whose mobility 
renders them peculiarly sensitive to every influence or 
change of condition, however minute. 

For these reasons, I content myself with merely in- 
dicating Froebel's method of illustration, with the help 
of a few instances in which the Saxon forms of English 
are sufficiently like the German to render this possible. 
I feel that I am the more justified in this as Froebel, 
too, confines himself to a series of illustrations, and does 



216 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

not give a systematic presentation of tlie whole of this 
interesting study. 

Collating words such as fresh, ff^^-, frolic, freak, 
fruit, friend, fry, and again, ^^(3, flight, flame, float, 
flow, flood, floor, flesh, fleet, he finds in the first series 
the expression of spirituality manifested in a diversity 
of outward activities indicated by the sounds fr, and 
in the second series the expression of spirituality mani. 
fested in continuous inner activity indicated by the 
sounds fl. In both series the sound f would point to 
the spirituality, r and I being due to its difi:erent mani- 
festations. 

Similarly, the sound of <? or Z; in the words crack, 
climh, creep, crab, cramp, cry, clear, clad ; corn, kernel, 
cook, keej), keen, kick, kill, king / knell, knot, knock, 
know, knight, knoll, etc., gives expression to the opera- 
tion of self-active force prominent in the ideas covered 
by these words. 

In general, he arrives at the law that vowels repre- 
sent the inner, or unity ; consonants (mutes), the outer, 
or individuality ; and semi-vowels (continuants and 
sonants), the mediations, or diversity.] 

It is by no means intended here to systematize these 
laws of language, but simply to insist that the boy's at- 
tention be directed to them at an early period ; his un- 
biased observation will soon teach him more than has 
been indicated. "What has been said must, therefore, 
sufiice to direct attention to the mathematical, physi- 
cal, and psychical attributes of language by which 
it becomes truly an image of the inner and outer 
world.' 

Of course, these attributes should be studied first in 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 217 

our mother-tongue. However, tliey are by no means 
the exclusive property of the German, but are found 
also in Greek and Latin in a manner peculiar to these 
languages. Thus, this view of language reveals to us 
even an inner relationship among these languages, show- 
ing German, Greek, and Latin in the relationship of 
soul, life, and body. 

In general, our children would reach 5, by far more 
thorough insight into language, if in our teaching we 
were to connect the words more with real ideas of the 
things and objects designated. Language would then 
cease to be for us merely a system of sounds and words, 
and would become a real living organism. Thus, it 
would lead more to the study of things, to the study of 
the essential nature of each thing and of the word itseK. 
Thus, our language would again become truly a living 
language — i. e., born from life and generating life; 
whereas now it threatens by merely external study to 
sink more and more into death. 

[Froebel devoted himself at different times with much zeal to 
the study of languages, particularly of the French, Latin, and Grreek. 
In 1811 he became deeply interested in the Oriental languages, 
chiefly on account of their kinship with the German. The tendency 
to seek a definite absolute meaning in each sound and letter was a 
characteristic of the philology of his time. Froebel, in his great 
love of the German language, became deeply involved in this ten- 
dency. He became an enthusiastic follower of Rtickert, who found 
in eh (pronounced with the long sound of the English a) the root of 
all languages. E (a) is the root of all vowels, h is the root of all con- 
sonants. This to him is shown in words like eh {a7ite, formerly), 
eivig (eternal), etc. Froebel finds corroboration, too, in the word ehe 
(matrimony). Later developments of philology have shown the 
futility of these deductions from a law of inner unity which still 
awaits formulation. — Tr.'\ 



218 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

§ 80. Among the different things which, in addition 
to the things previously considered, language offers for 
consideration, the law of rhythm claims special attention. 
This law appears in the different parts of words, as well 
as in the combinations of words; it proves both the 
spiritual origin of language and its conformity to nat- 
ural laws (see § 33). 

The rhythmic law of language, its universal ex- 
pression of life, belongs to it originally and inseparably 
as much as life belongs to the things represented in lan- 
guage. Hence, all primitive language expressions, as 
representations of active inner and outer life, are neces- 
sarily rhythmic ; and the more so because man in his 
childhood and youth, as well as humanity as a whole in 
its childhood and youth, has a more living and keener 
perception of the inner life of things. Therefore, for 
early youth language representation should assume a 
rhythmic form, for this is its first form in the early 
youth of mankind ; and, in general, man sees the whole 
in its rhythmic organization and in its connection with 
man before he sees its particulars in their respective in- 
dividuality. Thus, a number of considerations point to 
rhythmic language as necessarily belonging to the early 
youth of man. The loss of this has deprived him and 
mankind as a whole of one of the foremost, most primi- 
tive, and most natural means of elevation. 

If, then, we would restore our children to a true, 
higher, spiritual, and inner life, we must again awaken 
in them that inner life of language, of nature-contem- 
plation, and of feeling. The way to this is so easy. 
We only need to let the child live in accordance with 
its own nature and to remove carefully whatever might 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 219 

destroy or annihilate this natural life. Instead of this 
we put an end to budding life with crude, dead, heart- 
less words, and frighten back into rigid inactivity what- 
ever of life strives to free itself. 

Thus, we say, " Come, dear child, see the little 

violet. Is it not nice ? Break it off, and put it in some 

water, but take good care of it. It would be a great 

pity if you should lose it." 

How different would be the impression and the 
effect upon the same child's mind, if we should say 
more rhythmically : 

Come and see the ' 

Blossoming violet ; 
and then give expression to the child's feelings, thus : 

Blossoming violet ! how 

Much I do love thee (you) ! 

Let the skeptic who considers this above the capacity 
of the child listen to children, simply, naturally, and 
thoughtfully led. He will find how very early in the 
simplest expressions of feeling and accounts of observa- 
tions they express themselves unwittingly in more or 
less rhythmic speech. 

It is true there are few such children; but there 



220 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

•would be more, were we not ignorantly blunting so 
many tendencies in our children or starving them into 
inanition. 

And, nevertheless, we expect our children, who have 
grown up so barren and empty of feeling, to understand 
poets and nature at a later period. Then, the drill- 
master's art — even in our day and with the children of 
cultured parents — is expected to impart its elocutionary 
tricks. Behold the poor child, vain or trembling, con- 
ceited or timid, reciting his piece, and say who is most 
to be pitied, the child, his teacher, the poem, the poet, or 
the audience. 

[The instinctive tendency to rhythmic utterance in children is 
quite manifest in the character of their first words— papa, mama, 
td-ta, etc. ; and in the delight they find in the rhythmic repetition of 
seemingly meaningless syllables, which to many is mere senseless 
jabbering. Preyer has recorded some of these utterances from the 

" monologues " of his infant boy — e. g., eda, didl-dadl, dldoh-dldah ; 

papa, mama, meme, mimi, momo; e — mama — mamemama — ma — 

JL _ ^ _ 

— me — ma — me — ma. Perez records the following: "A little girl, 
two years and two months old, went on repeating from morning to 



night for a fortnight, toro, toro, toro, rapapi, rapapi, rapapi, a 
rhythmic monotone which caused her great delight. Another child, 
nearly three years old, for three months went on repeating these 
three syllables, articulated in a sonorous voice, tabille', tahilW, 
tahille'." 

I am favored with clear remembrances from the time of my 
babyhood, and can even now see myself lying in my crib keenly en- 
joying the rhythmic spell of similar exercises. 

I would here again refer the reader to Spencer. In " First 
Principles," chapter x, he treats on " The Rhythm of Motion " quite 
exhaustively. — 2V.] 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTIOiV. 221 

§ SI. Eeligion, nature, and language place the child, 
the boj, and the man — developed in accordance with 
these principles — in the midst of all life. He finds 
himself unable to hold fast for himself and his memory 
the great number of facts, not even as such, and much 
less in their relations to time and place; and one ex- 
perience seems to displace another. A still richer life 
is developed in his soul, so rich that the soul, unable to 
compass its abundance and wealth, overflows with it. 
This superabundance now meets him again from with- 
out as an independent, determinate, seemingly second 
life, and he can and does grasp it in its definiteness. 
And this is well, for this awakens in him the irresistible 
impulse and imperative need to snatch from oblivion 
for himself and others the blossoms and fruits of tlie 
rich but passing inner life, and to hold fast by means of 
external symbols the fleeting external hfe in shape, 
place, time, and other circumstances. 

Thus, the art of writing is developed in each indi- 
vidual hmnan being in the general historical way and in 
agreement with the general course of development 
of the human mind (see § 24). Indeed, we find ever 
again that the same laws which have guided man- 
kind in its development, hold good, too, in the devel- 
opment of each individual human being ; and we find 
at the same time that an externally richer life leads 
necessarily to pictorial hieroglyphics, and an intem- 
ally richer life to conventional letters [alphabetic writ- 
ing]. 

However, both the pictorial and alphabetic writing 
imply an exceedingly rich life — only out of this richness 
writing was born ; and even now the true desire and 



222 THE EDUCATIOX OF MAN. 

need of it arc tlms developed in the cliild, in each 
human being. 

Therefore, from this point of view, too, it is im- 
perative that parents and teachers should be careful to 
render the inner life of their children as rich as possible, 
not so much in diversity as in inner significance and ac- 
tivity. Without this, the art of writing comes without 
a corresponding inner need, and the mother-tongue be- 
comes — what it is now for so many in a very high de- 
gree — extraneous, meaningless, dead. Only if in each 
particular we choose again the great necessary highway 
of humanity as a whole, the great and vigorous early 
life of humanity comes to us again in and through our 
children ; the enfeebled mental qualities and faculties, 
the weakened powers of intuition and insight will come 
back to us in their full vigor (see § 16). 

And why, seeing that every boy endeavors to lead 
us on this way, should we not earnestly seek it ? Here 
we see a boy making a sketch of tlie apple-teee on 
which he discovered a nest with young birds, there 
another busy over the picture of the kite he sent up 
high into the air. Before me a little six-year old child, 
in self -active endeavor, without external compulsion, 
draws, in a book kejDt for this purpose, representations 
of strange animals he saw the day before in a menagerie. 

Who, having the charge of little children, has not 
been asked for some paper to write a letter to father or 
brother? The little boy is urged to this by the in- 
tensity of his inner life which he would communicate 
to these. It is not imitation, he has seen no one writing, 
but he knows how he can gratify his desire. To him 
his marks, resembling one another quite closely, mean 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 223 

different words which he intended to write to the person 
addressed ; and we see here a manifestation of the inner 
desire for symbolic writing, as in the former cases the 
inner desire for pictorial writing was shown. 

There are, indeed, thoughtful boys endowed with 
great intuitive power for the s^^iritual with whom one 
might develop in the strictly historical manner the 
want and the invention of pictorial and symbolic writ- 
ing. It is a well-known fact, too, that larger boys 
frequently invent their own alphabets. Certainly we 
should always proceed in some such way ; we should 
here, as in all instruction, start from a certain inner 
want of the boy. Indeed, to a certain extent such a 
want is indispensable if the boy is to be taught with 
profit and success. 

There is in this a source of many of the errors in our 
schools. We teach our children without having aroused 
an inner want for the instruction and after repressing 
everything that was previously in the child. How can 
such instruction be profitable ? 

§ 82. It has been shown that the irresistible impulse 
of a soul overflowing with superabundance of life in 
some direction, and the desire to hold fast this wealth 
gave rise to writing; this art, therefore, appears as 
the fruit of thoughtful self-observation. Similarly, the 
written characters or letters can not have been chosen 
arbitrarily, and must have some connection wdth the 
idea designated and with the growth of this idea. 

Although the laws to which letters owe their origin 
and development have become obscured, the little that 
is left of their first rudiments, seems to point unequiv- 
ocally to an inner connection between the form and 



224: THE EDUCATIOX OF MAN. 

the meaning — e. g., the letter as symbol in the word 
for the idea of absolute self-limitation, and the letter 8 
as symbol in the word for the idea of a return to 
seK.' 

An examination of the original Phcenician and later 
Koman characters readily reveals in a number of them 
a definite relation between the form of the letter and 
the idea it stands for in the word. However, even if 
the original definite connection between the letter and 
the meaning of the word could no longer be proved, 
some such connection should be assumed on. the slight- 
est foundation for the purposes of instruction. Nothing 
should ever be brought to the notice of the human be- 
ing in purely arbitrary connection — in a connection that 
does not admit at least the possibility of discovering a 
necessary inner reason. The neglect of this makes in- 
straction in writing, at present, so mechanical, lifeless, 
and dispiriting, [A sentence relating to the Gothic and 
Latin styles of type is omitted here]. 

§ 83. I shall here add merely the suggestion that in 
the same way reading again enters into its original and 
natural relationship to the human being and to the 
learner. Reading is the necessary outcome of the de- 
sire to render again audible to himself or others, to re- 
suscitate, as it were, what has been written down. 

Writing and reading, which necessarily imply a liv- 
ing knowledge of language to a certain extent, lift man 
beyond every other known creature and bring him 
nearer the realization of his destiny. Through the 
practice of these arts he attains personality. The en- 
deavor to learn these arts makes the scholar and the 
school. The possession of the alphabet places the pos- 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 225 

sibilitj of self-consciousness witliin bis reach, for it 
alone renders true self-knowledge possible, by enabling 
liim to place liis own nature objectively before himself, 
as it were ; it connects him clearly and definitely with 
the past and future, brings him into universal relation- 
ship with the nearest things, and gives him certainty 
concerning the most remote. 

The alphabet thus jplaces man ivithin reach of the 
highest and fullest earthly perfection. Writing is the 
first chief act of free and self -active consciousness. 

l^ow, since reading and writing are of such great 
importance to man, the boy (when he begins to practice 
them) should possess a sufficient amount of strength and 
insight. The possibility of self -consciousness must have 
been developed in him ; the inner need and desire to 
know them must have manifested itself clearly and defi- 
nitely, before he begins to learn these arts. 

If he is to learn these arts in a truly profitable way, 
the boy must himself already have become something 
of which he can become self-conscious, instead of labor- 
ing to become conscious of what he has not yet come 
to be ; otherwise, all his knowledge will be hollow, dead, 
empty, extraneous, mechanical. For, if the foundation 
is dead and mechanical, how could we expect later on 
to see developed therefrom life-activity and true life, 
which is the highest prize of all earnest endeavor ; how 
could man truly attain his destiny, which is life ? 

D. Art and Ohjects of Art. 

§ 84. If what has been said heretofore concerning 
the objective and central points, or axes, of human 
22 



226 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

life is surveyed from a common point of view, liuman 
aims will present themselves under three aspects. There 
is either a tendency to inward repose and life, or a ten- 
dency to the study and comprehension of the external, 
or a tendency to direct representation of the inter- 
nal. 

The first is the prevailing tendency of religion ; the 
second, of the contemplation of nature ; the third, of 
self-development and self-contemplation. 

Similarly, it will be found that matJiematics is con- 
cerned more with the representation of the external in 
the internal, with the representation of inner conformity 
to universal law, with the representation of nature in 
inner (human) terms. For this reason mathematics 
mediates between nature and man ; it has reference more 
to the understanding. 

Language is concerned more with the outward rep- 
resentation of inner perception, has reference more to 
reason. There is still wanting for the complete repre- 
sentation of his nature as a whole the representation of 
inner life as such, of the mind. This representation of 
the internal, of the inner man as such, is accomplished 
in art. 

§ 85. With one exception all human ideas are rela- 
tive ; mutual relations connect all ideas, and they are 
distinct only in their terminal points. 

Therefore, there is in art, too, a side where it 
touches mathematics, the understanding ; another where 
it touches the world of language, reason ; a third where 
— although itself clearly a representation of the inner 
— it coincides with the representation of nature ; and a 
fourth where it coincides with religion. 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTIOX. 227 

Yet all these relationsliips will have to be disre- 
garded, when it is considered with reference to the edu- 
cation of man, in order to lead him to an appreciation 
of art. Here, art will be considered only in its ultimate 
unity as the pure representation of the inner. We 
notice at once that art, or the representation of inner 
life in art, must be differentiated in accordance with the 
material it uses. 

Now, the material, as an earthly phenomenon, may 
be motion as such, but audible in sound, as tones which 
vanish while being produced ; or it may be visible in 
lines, surfaces, and colors ; or it may be corporeal, mass- 
ive. Here, too, as in all actual things, there are, how- 
ever, many transitions and combinations. 

Art, as representation by tones, is music, particu- 
larly song. Art, as representation by color, is painting. 
Art, as representation by plastic material, is modehng. 
The last two are connected by drawing. This, however, 
may be considered simply as representation by lines, so 
that painting would appear as representation by sur- 
faces, and modeling as representation by solids. 

On account of the mediating quality of drawing, it 
appears very early as a phase in human development, 
and we noticed that even at an earlier stage children 
have the desire to draw (see § 36). Even the desire to 
express ideas by modeling and coloring is frequently 
found at this earlier stage of childhood, certainly at the 
very beginning of the stage of boyhood (see § 49). 

This proves clearly that art and appreciation of art 
constitute a general capacity or talent of man, and should 
be cared for early, at the latest in boyhood. 

This does not imply that the boy is to devote him- 



228 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

self chiefly to art and is to become an artist ; but that 
he should be enabled to understand and apjireciate 
works of art. At the same time, a true scholastic 
education will be sure to guard him against the error 
of claiming to be an artist, unless there is in him the 
true artistic calling. 

A universal and comprehensive plan of human edu- 
cation must, therefore, necessarily consider at an early 
period singing, drawing, painting, and modeling ; it will 
not leave them to an ai'bitraiy, frivolous whimsicalness, 
but treat them as serious objects of the school. Its in- 
tention will not be to make each pupil an artist in some 
one or all of the arts, but to secure to each human be- 
ing full and all-sided development, to enable him to see 
man in the universality and all-sided energy of his nature, 
and, particularly, to enable him to understand and ap- 
preciate the products of true art. 

Like drawing, but in a different respect, representa- 
tion in rhythmic speech is mediatory. As representa- 
tion of the ideal world in language, as the condensed 
representation, as it were, of the ethereal spiritual 
world of ideas, as the tranquil representation of ab- 
solute, eternally moving, and moved life, it belongs 
to art. 

In everything, in life and religion, hence also in art, 
the ultimate and supreme aim is the clear representation 
of man as such. In its tendency. Christian art is the 
highest, for it aims to represent in everything, particu- 
larly in and through man, the eternally permanent, the 
divine. Man is the highest object of human art. 

Thus, we have indicated in their totality the object, 
the aim, and the meaning of human life, as they are re- 



CHIEF GROUPS OF SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 229 

vealed even in tlie life of the boy as a scholar. It still 
remains to consider the sequences and connections in 
the development of successive phases of his nature at 
the scholastic stage, as well as the character, the order, 
and form of the instruction by which the school seeks 
to aid the boy in this development. 



YL 

CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SCHOOL AND 
THE FAMILY AND THE SUBJECTS OF 
INSTRUCTION IT IMPLIES. 

A. General Considerations. 

§ 86. In the family the child grows up to boyhood 
and pupilage ; therefore, the school must link itself to 
the family. The union of the school and of life, of 
domestic and scholastic life, is the first and indispensable 
requisite of a perfect human education of this period. 
The union of family and school hfe is the indispensable 
requisite of the education of this period, if men, indeed, 
are ever to free themselves from the oppressive burden 
and emptmess of merely extraneously communicated 
knowledge, heaped up in memory ; if they would ever 
rise to the joy and vigor of a knowledge of the inner 
nature and essence of things, to a living knowledge of 
things — a knowledge which, like a sound, vigorous 
tree, like a family or generation full of the joy and 
consciousness of life, is spontaneously developed from 
within ; if they would cease at last to play in word and 
deed with the valueless shadows of things, and to go 
through Hfe in a mask. 

It would prove a boon to our children and a blessing 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 231 

to coming generations if we could but come to see that 
we possess a great oppressive load of extraneous and 
merely external information and cultm-e, that we fool- 
ishly seek to increase this from day to day, and that we 
are very poor in inner knowledge, in information evolved 
from our own soul and grown up with it. 

We should at last cease making a vain display of 
the thoughts, the knowledge, and even the feelings of 
others. We should no longer seek the highest glory of 
our education and of our schools in efforts to garnish 
the minds of our children with foreign knowledge and 
sldll. 

This is, indeed, an old disease ; for, if we inquire 
how the German people has obtained the first principles 
of its present knowledge, we discover unequivocally that 
those first principles always came from a distance, from 
foreign parts, or were even forced upon it from without. 
Therefore, we have not even a generally accepted term 
in our mother-tongue for these first principles, elements, 
or rudiments. 

The strong German mind, it is true, digested this 
foreign acquisition and assimilated it, but it nevertheless 
continued to wear the character of its extraneous origin. 
For thousands of years we have worn these fetters. 
Shall v/e, therefore, never begin to plant in our own 
minds a tree of life and knowledge, and let it germinate 
and nurse it, that it may unfold in beauty, put out vig- 
orous and sound blossoms, and ripen dehcious fruit, 
which may fall from the tree in this world and yield a 
new harvest in the world beyond ? 

Shall we never cease stamping our children like 
coins and adorning them with foreign inscriptions and 



232 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

foreign portraits, instead of enabling them to walk 
among us as the images of God, as developments of the 
law and life implanted in them by God and graced with 
the expression of the divine ? 

Are we afraid that onr children might excel us ? 
What people and what time will be high-minded enough 
to deny itself for the sake of its children and in the in- 
terest of a pure humanity ? ^ay, what father and what 
family will allow its soul to be filled with this thought, 
and thus multiply and enhance its inner power mani- 
fold? 

Only the quiet, secluded sanctuary of the family can 
give back to us the welfare of mankind. In the foun- 
dation of every new family, the Heavenly Father, 
eternally working the welfare of the human race, speaks 
to man through ths heaven he has opened in the heart 
of its founders. With the foundation of every new 
family there is issued to mankind and to each individual 
human being the call to represent humanity in pure de- 
velopment, to represent man in his ideal purity (see 
§48). 

It is sufficiently clear, too, that the German mind 
can no longer be satisfied with the lifeless extraneous 
knowledge and insight of the time ; that a culture of 
mere external polish can no longer suffice, if, indeed, 
we are to become self-centered, worthy children of God. 
Therefore, we need and seek . knowledge and insight 
that have sprung into vigorous and healthy life in our 
own minds and grown strong in the sunshine and con- 
ditions of our own life. 

Or would we ever again cover with rubbish the 
source of Kfe which God has opened in the heart and 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 233 

mind of every human being ? "Would we deprive our 
children and pupils of the unspeakable joy of finding 
in their souls the source of everlasting life? Would 
you, parents and teachers, continue to compel your 
children to stop up this source of Kfe with valueless 
waste and to hedge it with thorns ? 

You say : " Only thus can they get along in the 
world. Children will soon be grown up. Who will 
then take care of them ? What will they eat ? Where- 
with will they be clothed ? " 

Ye fools ! I shall not answer you by saying, " Seek 
ye first the kingdom of God," etc. ; for in your es- 
trangement from God and from yourseK you could not 
understand this. But again and again I shall say unto 
you, that we are not here concerned with a dull, brood- 
ing life, empty of knowledge and works (see § 23). 

Mankind is meant to enjoy a degree of knowledge 
and insight, of energy and efficiency of which at present 
we have no conception ; for who has fathomed the des- 
tiny of heaven-born mankind ? But these things are to 
be developed in each individual, growing forth in each 
one in the vigor and might of youth, as newly created 
self-productions. 

The boy is to take up his future work, which now 
has become his calling, not indolently, in sullen gloom, 
but cheerfully and joyously, trusting God and nature, 
rejoicing in the manifold prosperity of his work. 
Peace, harmony, moderation, and all the high civil and 
human virtues will dwell in his soul and in his house, 
and he will secure through and in the circle of his 
activity the contentment for which all strive. 

]^either will he say that his son may take up any 



234 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

business but bis own, the most ungrateful of all ; nor 
will be insist tbat bis son sball take up tbis business 
wbicb be bimself carries on profitably and witb satis- 
faction to bimself. He will see tbat tbe smallest busi- 
ness may be carried on in a great way, tbat every busi- 
ness may be ennobled and made wortby of man. He 
will see tbat tbe smallest power, cbeerfully and rigbtly 
applied to any work, will secure bread, clotbing, and 
sbelter, as well as respect ; be will, tberefore, feel no 
anxiety concerning tbe future welfare of bis cbildren, 
wbose soul-development bas been bis cbief care. 

§ 87. Tbe various directions of tbis unified scbool 
and family life, of tbis active educational life, are in- 
dicated by tbe degree of development man bas attained 
at tbis stage, by tbe inner and outer needs of tbe boy 
entering upon tbis stage of pupilage. Tbey are, of 
necessity, tbe following : 

a. Tbe arousing, strengtbening, and cultivation of tbe 
religious sense ; tbe sense tbat brings tbe soul of man 
into ever-more living unity witb God; tbe sense tbat 
feels and bolds fast tbe unity in all tbe apparent di- 
versity of tilings, and by wbose vigor and activity tbe 
boy's life and actions are brougbt into barmony witb 
tbis unity. For tbis purpose we bave tbe memorizing 
of religious utterances concerning nature, man, and 
tbeir relation to God, and particularly for prayer ; fur- 
nisbing bim a mirror, as it were, in wbicb tbe boy may 
see, as in a picture, bis feelings, intuitions, and tenden- 
cies in tbeir original unity witb God, and tbus become 
conscious of tbem and bold tbem fast in tbis aspect. 

h. Consideration, knowledge, and cultivation of tbe 
body as tbe servant of tbe mind and tbe medium for 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 235 

the representation of its being, to be developed in or- 
derly graded exercises. 

c. Observation and study of nature and the external 
world, proceeding from the nearest surroundings to the 
more remote. 

d. Memorizing of short poetical representations of 
nature and life, particularly of short poems that impart 
life to the objects of nature in the nearest surroundings, 
and significance to the incidents of home-life, showing 
them, as in a mirror, in their pure and deep meaning. 
This is to be done particularly for the purposes of song 
and in song. 

e. Exercises in language starting with the study of 
nature and the external world and passing over to the 
inner world, but always with strict reference to lan- 
guage as the audible medium of representation. 

f. Exercises in systematic outward corporeal repre- 
sentation, proceeding from the simple to the complex. 
Here are included representations by means of more or 
less prepared material (building, paper, card-board, wood- 
work, etc.), as well as modeling with plastic material. 

g. Exercises in representation with lines on a plane, 
and in constant, visible relation to the vertical and hori- 
zontal direction, the media for the apprehension of all 
external shapes. These directions in their repetitions 
constitute a net- work of lines, which is to be the outer 
law for these drawing exercises. 

h. Study of colors in their difEerences and resem- 
blances, and representation of these in prescribed out- 
hnes, with special reference to the form of the outline 
(coloring of outline pictures) or to the color-relations 
(painting in the square net-work). 



236 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

i. Play, or representations and exercises of all kinds 
in free activity. 

j. I^arration of stories and legends, fables and fairy- 
tales, with reference to the incidents of the day, of the 
seasons, of life, etc. 

All tliis is interspersed in the ordinary school and 
family life, with the ordinary occupations of home and 
school. 

For boys of this age should have some definite 
domestic duties to perform. They might even receive 
regular instruction from mechanics or farmers, such as 
has been frequently given by fathers inspired by vigor- 
ous and active natural insight. Especially should older 
boys frequently be set by parents and teachers to doing 
things independently, and alone (i.e., errands), so that 
they may attain firmness and the art of self-examination 
in their actions. It is very desirable that such boys 
should devote daily at least one or two hours to some 
definite external pursuit, some externally productive 
work. It is surely one of the greatest faults of our cur- 
rent school arrangements, especially of the so-called 
Latin and high schools, that the pupils are wholly de- 
barred from outwardly productive work. It is futile to 
object that the boy at this age, if he is to reach a cer- 
tain degree of skill and insight, ought to direct his 
whole strength to the learning of words, to verbal in- 
struction, to intellectual culture. On the contrary, 
genuine experience shows that external, physical, 
productive activity interspersed in intellectual work 
strengthens not only the body but in a very marked 
degree the mind in its various phases of development, 
so that the mind, after such a refreshing work-bath 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 237 

(I can find no better name), enters upon its intellectual 
pursuits with new vigor and life (see § 23). 

If we compare the just enumerated subjects of the 
educatio]ial life of home and school, they appear grouped 
in accordance with the inner needs of boyhood into sub- 
jects (a) of the more quiet, calm, inner life ; (b) of the 
more receptive, intro-active life ; (c) of the more express- 
ive outwardly formative life. They completely meet 
the needs, therefore, of man in general. 

Furthermore, it will be noticed that they develop, 
exercise, and cultivate all the senses, all the inner and 
outer powers of man, and thus meet the requirements 
of human life in general. 

Lastly, it will be seen that a simple, orderly home 
and school life can easily meet the requirements of all 
these subjects, and, consequently, the requirements of 
human development at this stage. 

Let us now examine these subjects in their par- 
ticulars. 

B. Particular Consideration of the Different Subjects 
of Instruction. 

A. AROUSING AND CULTIVATION OF THE RELIGIOUS SENSE. 

§ S8. If the child has grown up in unity of life and 
soul with his parents, this unity will not only be main- 
tained but strengthened and intensified during the 
period of boyhood, provided no disturbing and obstruct- 
ing causes intervene. 

The question here is not of that vague and indefinite 
unity of feeling which makes one body of two bodies, 
not uncommon between parents and child, but of that 
23 



238 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

living soul-unity, that clear oneness of mind, which sees 
life as an unbroken whole in all its operations and phe- 
nomena. 

This living unity of soul, this clear oneness of mind 
— which is not a mere external community of life — is 
the unshakable foundation of genuine religious feeling. 
For this spiritual unity between parent and child, the 
inner life, the pure outward representation of inner 
spiritual life of man is a common concern. What the 
father and mother because of the hindrances of life 
could not attain, they seek to accomplish in and through 
their child — the representation of pure humanity as 
such. 

Dearly, and often painfully, the father has purchased 
clear and sure results from his experience in the devel- 
opment and cultivation of his own innermost life. His 
loss of strength prevents him from applying these re- 
sults in his own life, but he communicates them to his 
son ; and the son profits by this experience and applies 
it in his own life with the unbroken and full energy 
and vigor of his youth. 

Where the life of parent and child has not been an 
unbroken whole from the earliest beginning, these com- 
munications have no effect ; apparently the experiences 
of two different worlds are opposed to each other with 
different wants and different forces, and the connecting 
link is missing. Only he who has tried to secure them 
can appreciate the results of that spiritual unity between 
parent and child, which is based on the common purpose 
of cultivating and representing highest and purest 
humanity. 

Such a spiritual union necessarily implies the obser- 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 239 

vation of individual and common life in their inner 
cause and purpose, in their inner and living connection. 
From this the soul of man, even in boyhood, obtains the 
most unequivocal proofs and conviction that, to speak 
humanly, God continues uninterruptedly to guide man- 
kind in its development and cultivation with fatherly 
protection and care, and follows each individual as an 
essential member of the whole in all the events of life 
with fatherly aid and solicitude. 

How could man better express the fact that the 
events of life, truly seen and understood in their causes, 
their nature and significance, are always for the best of 
the individual and of the whole ? Thus, we ever speak 
of the divine most clearly and comprehensibly for our- 
selves in human terms. 

The boy's mind tlms steadily grows in clearness and 
purity, his powers are ever enhanced and increased, his 
courage and perseverance strengthened by thus finding 
the confirmations of these traths in his own life and in 
that of others, in individual and common hfo, in ex- 
perience and revelation ; by thus finding the harmony 
and unity of revelation in scripture, nature, and life; 
by thus seeing himself the member of a whole unfold- 
ing from the small domestic circle into ever wider and 
higher realms, of a whole whose common purpose he 
recognizes, amid the most positive evidences of divine 
guidance and care, in the representation of the spiritual 
in and by the corporeal, of the divine in and by the 
human. 

The life of such a family, of such a boy, will neces- 
sarily be a prayer of Jesus expressed in conduct and in 
deeds, a living prayer of Jesus ; a rich and eflScient 



240 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Christian life, trusting in God, loving God and man, 
sjiontaneously active in childlike obedience to God. 
Thus, the teachings of Jesus will be interpreted in their 
own life, and the application of these teachings in life 
will become possible. 

Religious instruction, resting on such spiritual union 
between parent and child, stands on firm ground and is 
rich in blessings. It is fruitful and rich in blessings 
only in the measure in which fortunate circumstances 
of life have aroused in the boy at an early period a liv- 
ing sense, a quick and clear eye for inner spiritual life 
(see § 21). 

There is no danger that any subject of inner spiritual 
life will prove in its nature too high and unintelligible 
for the boy's inner spiritual sense ; let him simply re- 
ceive the facts, his inner power will soon find the inner 
meaning in forms accessible and intelligible to him. 

We do not give early boyhood enough credit for re- 
ligious power as well as for mental power generally. 
For this reason, in later boyhood, life and the soul are so 
empty, so wholly without experience, and, therefore, so 
callous and dull with reference to spiritual, ethical, and 
religious notions. Only a few threads, and these weak, 
are found there to which to fasten instruction concern- 
ing a truly religious life ; nevertheless, so much is asked 
in this respect of the boy in the succeeding period of 
youth. 

Children and boys have their attention called at an 
early period to a great number of external matters, and 
receive instruction concerning these things which they 
can not understand, simply because they are extraneous. 
At the same time, they are left uninstructed concerning 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 241 

SO many inner matters which they might understand, be- 
cause these matters are within them. Thus, they are 
early introduced to outer life, and estranged from inner 
life ; for this reason, the latter is so hollow and dull. 

If the human being is to understand many, par- 
ticularly religious, truths, we must see to it that he have 
many experiences in this direction, that even in the 
more trivial events of his emotional and religious life 
he become conscious of the course and conditions of his 
spiritual development. Unless man ascends from the 
knowledge of the Fatherhood of God in his own life to 
a knowledge of His Fatherhood in the life of mankind, 
future religious instruction will be empty and barren in 
the same inverse ratio. 

Yery many religious errors and misinterpretations, 
many falsities and half-truths would be avoided through 
early attention to these matters, or through at least un- 
hindered and undisturbed development of inner spiritual 
life in harmony with external life and with reference to 
it. Similarly, we could avoid the misunderstanding of 
certain prominent sayings of dogmatic religious instruc- 
tion, which in this one-sided presentation effect in the 
life of man the exact opposite of what they are in- 
tended to effect. This is true, for instance, of the say- 
ing, " The good will be happy," so prominently em- 
phasized in religious instruction, generally to the great- 
est detriment for the life, the happiness, the contentment, 
and the ever-progressive tendency of man. 

The simple boy, still poor in outer experiences, feels 
and sees his life as an undivided whole ; to him inner 
and outer good, inner and outer happiness, inner and 
outer hfe are still undivided, without any differentia- 



242 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

tions or oppositions. Therefore, without any idea that 
it might be different, the inner pure soul-life is neces- 
sarily considered also as external ; hence, the inner fruits 
of goodness are looked upon as identical with the ex- 
ternal fruits. 

The inner and the outer, the infinite and the finite, 
however, are two worlds, whose phenomena are neces- 
sarily and for ever diSerent in form. Therefore, that 
general saying, if it does not at an early period disturb 
and weaken the inner peace and power of the boy, will 
at least fill his mind with false expectations and lead 
him to wholly false judgments, interpretations, and uses 
of his experiences— to serious errors in his life. 

Dogmatic religious instruction should rather at an 
early period establish the truth, showing its application 
in individual and collective life, and tracing it in all 
development in nature and mankind, that whoever truly 
and earnestly, in singleness of purpose and self-sacrifice, 
seeks the good, the pure representation of humanity, 
must needs expose himself to a life of external oppres- 
sion, pain and want, anxiety and care. For this very 
tendency implies that the inner, spiritual, true life be 
revealed and become manifest ; and, if this is to be ac- 
complished, the consequences indicated above are un- 
avoidable. 

In order to enable the boy to see this vividly, let 
him compare the requirements, conditions, and phe- 
nomena of the development of a tree with the require- 
ments, conditions, and phenomena of the spiritual de- 
velopment of a human being. He will find that — 

Every phase of development, however beautiful and 
proper in its place, must vanish and perish, whenever a 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. " 243 

higher phase is to appear. The sheltering bud-scales 
must fall when the young branch or the fragrant blos- 
som is to mifold, however much these tender forms may 
thereby be exposed to the rough weather of spring. 
The fragrant blossom must make room for a fruit, at 
first sour, hard, and homely. The luscious, red-cheeked 
fruit must decay, that vigorous young plants and trees 
may sprout forth. 

Thus, the psalms of David, and the hymns of many 
others wbo did battle for the lifting up of mankind, 
for the representation of pure humanity, resemble the 
fruits of their tree of life which could not appear with- 
out the sacrifice of many earlier phases of life develop- 
ment dear to them. 

And do not the verses of those psalms and hymns 
resemble kernels which, sown in the fertile soil of 
human souls, bring forth shady trees filled with fragrant 
blossoms and strength-giving, eternal, immortal fruits? 

Renunciation, the ahandonTnent of the external for 
the sake of securing the internal, is the condition for 
attaining highest develojpinent. 

This agrees with the saying, coming from another 
phase of contemplation : " The dearer the child, the more 
frequent the rod" ; or, "Whom the Lord loveth he chas- 
teneth." Every boy whose soul is not wholly estranged 
from himself will understand this truth. The human 
being who understands this truth and who is conscious 
of an honest purpose will not murmur and complain, 
like a stubborn child, about adverse occurrences in his 
life, saying : " Why is my lot so sad, so unhappy ? I 
have done no harm, at least I am not conscious of any 
evil doing. Others are doing so well, although it is 



244: THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

known how wicked they are, or, at least, that they act 
only from external points of view, and from transient 
and weak motives." 

He will rather say to himself : " Just because you 
seek earnestly and steadily only the highest and best, 
only the absolute and permanent good, all merely relative 
and transient good must vanish, to make room for ever 
higher and more perfect developments and, at last, for 
abiding fruit." 

No less detrimental to the attainment of human life 
is the predominance frequently given in religious in- 
struction to the promise of a reward for good deeds in 
a future life, if they seem to go unrewarded in this life. 
Brutal minds who hold sensual pleasure highest are not 
affected by this ; boys and human beings, generally with 
a normally good disposition, do not need it. For, if our 
life is pure, if our actions are right and good, no reward 
in a future world is needed, even though in this world 
all may be lacking that seems valuable to the sensual 
man. 

It argues a low degree of insight into the nature and 
dignity of man, if the incentive of reward in a future 
world is needed, in order to insure a conduct worthy of 
his nature and destiny. If the human being is enabled 
at an early period to live in accordance with genuine 
humanity, he can and should at all times appreciate the 
dignity of his being ; and at all times the consciousness 
of having lived wortliily and in accordance with the re- 
quirements of his being should be his highest reward, 
needing no addition of external recompense. 

Does the good child or boy, conscious of having 
acted in a manner worthy of the father, in his spirit and 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 245 

in obedience to liis will, need more than the joy of this 
consciousness? Does the simple, normal child, con- 
scious of having done right, think of any additional re- 
ward, were it only praise ? Should not man be as pure 
and perfect in his actions toward God as the son is 
toward his earthly father ? Jesus says : " My meat is to 
do the will of Him who sent me " — i. e., the conscious- 
ness of having done the Father's w^ill gives sustenance, 
meaning, and joy to my life. He deems the poor al- 
ready blessed — as they truly are — because their poverty 
enhances the efficiency of the soul and lifts conduct ac- 
cordingly. 

We ought to lift and strengthen human nature, but 
we degrade and weaken it when we seek to lead it to 
good conduct by means of a bait, even if this bait 
beckons to a future world, when we use even the most 
spiritual external incentive for a better life and leave 
undeveloped the inner self-active forces which in every 
human being prompt the representation of a pure 
humanity. 

How very different are all these things if the boy's 
attention has been directed at an early period to the re- 
actions of his conduct, not to the external pleasantness 
of his situation but to his inner condition, to his inner 
freedom, serenity, and contentment ! Experience rest- 
ing on this will necessarily arouse more and more man's 
inner sense, leading to genuine thoughtfuluess, the most 
precious treasure of boyhood and youth. 

ReHgious instruction should throw light upon such 
experiences, should bring them into clear consciousness, 
should harmonize and unite them, should deduce from 
them the self-evident and axiomatic truths, show their 



24:6 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

application in all conditions of life in wliich force, life, 
and spirit are active, sbonld exhibit their agreement 
with the truths recognized and uttered by God-inspired 
men. This true religiousness will become the eternal 
heritage of man, and gradually of mankind as a whole, 
and all that is high and holy and has found utterance in 
humanity will again and again find utterance in man. 
Thus, the religious development of the individual will 
be brought more and more into harmony with the re- 
ligious development of mankind, blessing all, dissipat- 
ing superstition, doubt, and despotism, and fixing the 
glorious consciousness that in God we live and have our 
being. 

§ 89. Memorizing of Religious Sayings. — It is nat- 
ural that religious feelings, sentiments, and thoughts 
should spring up in the mind of man as such, as well as 
in the mind of the boy not estranged from himself and 
grown up in spiritual unity with his parents. 

In the beginning these sentiments and feelings will 
manifest themselves in the mind of man or of the boy 
only as an effect, as an intuition, a fullness, without 
word or form, without any adequate expression of what 
they are, merely as something that uplifts our being and 
fills the soul. At this juncture it is most beneficial, 
strengthening, and uplifting for the young human being 
to receive words — a language for these sentiments and 
feelings — so that they may not be stifled in themselves, 
vanish in themselves for lack of expression. 

There need be no fear that the words of others will 
force upoii the child or boy an extraneous feeling. The 
religious element has the quality of pure air, of bright 
sunlight, and clear water ; every earthly creature inhales 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 247 

tliem, and in each it assumes a different form and color, 
in tlie life of each it finds a different expression. 

Take any simple religious maxim intelligible to 
every boy or child through and in his own life, let a 
number of boys memorize it, and it will produce in the 
life of each an effect peculiar to his individuality. 

Of course, these words must find a response in the 
boy's life. The child must not be expected to give life 
and meaning to the words, but the words must give ex- 
pression to what is already in the boy's soul and find 
their meaning in this. 

Thus, a boy, scarcely six years old, asks every even- 
ing one of his parents taking him to bed: "Please, 
teach me a prayer." Then, after repeating it, he quietly 
goes to sleep. One day, he had done something that 
seemed to indicate that all was not right in his soul. 
The evening prayer opened with general tenns ; in a 
loud and strong voice he repeated the words as usual. 
Then a slight turn in the words pointed to the occur- 
rence of the day, and suddenly his voice became scarcely 
audible, though, probably, his conscience spoke only the 
louder. 

Yesterday, he said to me for the first time : " Please, 
repeat the prayer with me." I inferred that there was 
something that concerned him very much. I selected 
the prayer which seemed to me the right one, and he 
calmly went to sleep. 

!N^ot long ago, the same boy came to me and brought 
me a picture he had just found ; he was pleased with it, 
for it was brilliantly painted. At the same moment a 
boy, about a year and a half older, very lively, and 
apparently little heeding inner life, came up. " How 



248 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

cruel ! " he exclaimed, looking at the picture, which rep- 
resented an attack of Turks upon Greeks, particularly 
upon Greek mothers and children, 

I said to the boys that all ought to give thanks to 
God for a life free from harm and sorrow. " Yes, in- 
deed," exclaimed the older boy, " as we do in the morn- 
ing and evening." Yet at no time had an explanatory 
word been spoken to him. 

Certainly it is neither necessary nor desirable that 
with younger boys there should be frequent changes in 
the sayings or utterances memorized for the purpose of 
giving expression to their inner life. 

B. RESPECT FOR THE BODY, KNOWLEDGE, AND CULTIVATION OF IT. 

§ 90. Man respects what he not only knows in its 
value, its meaning, and uses, but what he can apply and 
use, the things on whose good qualities he knows the 
attainment of his work and purpose to depend. 

It does not follow that man, especially in boyhood, 
knows his body, because it is so near to him, nor that he 
can use his limbs because they are one with him. We 
often hear boys admonished not to be so awkward, and 
this particularly in walks of life that do not pay regular 
attention to all-sided bodily activity in childhood and 
early boyhood. 

We see that men in whom the culture of mind and 
body have not kept pace with each other, at certain 
times and under certain circumstances, do not know 
what to do with their body. Nay, many a one seems 
to feel his body and his limbs to be a burden to himself. 

The occasional cultivation of the body in domestic 



THE SCHOOL AND TUE FAMILY. 249 

occupations may do much to remedy tliis. But, in 
almost all cases, this is very subordinate, and generally 
exercises the body only one-sidedly. Besides, man is to 
know not only his power but also the means for apply- 
ing it ; and this can be attained only by means of an all- 
sided, equal cultivation of the body and its parts as the 
medium and expression of mental culture. 

This appears already in the simplest cases of instruc- 
tion, where the use and position of the body and its 
members are essential, e. g.^ in writing, drawing, the play- 
ing of musical instruments, etc. If the pupil has not 
previously had the benefit of true all-sided cultivation 
and use of his body and its members, and has made this 
his permanent possession, only a mechanical training, 
equally blunting to teacher and pupil, can secure scanty 
success ; the continual repetition of admonitions to sit 
straight, to hold the arm right, etc., drives all life and 
prosperity from instruction. 

An active, vigorous body, in all conditions and pur- 
suits of life, a dignified bearing and attitude of the body, 
can only result from all-sided cultivation of the body, as 
bearer of the mind. Surely, a great deal of rudeness, 
ill-mannerliness, and impropriety would disappear from 
boyhood, and corresponding admonitions would become 
less frequent, if we gave our boys regular, all-sided 
bodily training, proceeding from the simple to the com- 
plex, based on their mental culture, and keeping pace 
with it. 

The will, as such, does not yet control the body at 
all times ; therefore, the body should be enabled to obey 
the mind implicitly at all times, as in the case of a mu- 
sical performer. Without such cultivation of the body, 
24 



250 TOE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

education can never attain its object, wliicli is perfect 
human cultui'e. Therefore, the body, like the mind, 
should in this respect pass through a true school, though 
not in a one-sided manner ; and regular physical exer- 
cises, proceeding from the simple to the complex, based 
on the mental development, are a proper subject of in- 
struction in every school. 

Thus alone is true discij^line made possible. True 
discipline firmly places the boy, in all his actions, on 
the recognition and feeling of human worth, and on 
consequent respect for his own nature. This is the 
positive element of education at this period ; and the 
more vividly and distinctly the pupil apprehends the 
nature and dignity of man, and the more clearly and 
perfectly he sees and understands the necessary require- 
ments of true humanity, the more positively and strictly 
the educator should insist upon the fulfillment of these 
requirements. I^ay, if need be, he should not shun to 
descend from admonition to punishment and severity 
for the benefit of the pupil ; boyhood is the age of dis- 
cipline. Only harmony of mental and bodily culture 
renders true discipline possible. 

Furthermore, after severe mental activity, the body 
as well as the mind calls for strictly regulated, vigorous 
bodily activity, and this again reacts on the mind and 
strengthens it. Only where mental and bodily activity 
are thus in regular, living, mutual action and reaction, 
true life is possible. 

But bodily exercises have yet another important 
side : they lead the human being (here the boy) subse- 
quently to a vivid knowledge of the inner structure of 
his body ; for the boy feels v/ith special vividness the 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 251 

inner mutual connection in the activity of his members. 
These perceptions, aided bj only tolerably good sketches 
of the inner structure of man, must lead to the vivid 
knowledge of this structure, and induce, at least, a living 
interest in the care and consideration of the body. 

C. OBSERVATION OF NATURE AND SURROUNDINGS. 

§ 91. The things considered under this head for- 
merly — in the period of childhood — seemed isolated and 
without inner connection ; now they appear in an or- 
derly arrangement and in their necessary inner connec- 
tion, adapted to the development of man at this stage, 
and in the classifications and subdivisions indicated by 
the gradual differentiation of particulars from generals. 

The knowledge of every thing, of its purpose and 
properties, is found most clearly and distinctly in its 
local conditions and in its relations to surrounding ob- 
jects. Therefore, the pupil will get the clearest insight 
into the character of things, of nature and surround- 
ings, if he sees and studies them in their natural con- 
nection. 

Again, the boy will, of course, see most clearly and 
appreciate most fully the conditions and relations of 
objects that are in closest and most constant connection 
with him, that owe their being to him, or at least have 
in their being some reference to him. These are the 
things of his nearest surroundings — the things of the 
sitting-room, the house, the garden, the farm, the vil- 
lage (or city), the meadow, the field, the forest, the 
plain. The sitting-room, then, furnishes the starting- 
point for this orderly study of nature and surroundings, 



252 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

wliicli thus proceeds from the near and known to the 
less near and less known, and becomes for the purpose 
of orderly classification and subdivision a real subject of 
scliool instruction. 

The course is as follows. Instruction begins again 
with the necessary indication of the object. Thus, point- 
ing to the table, " "What is this ? " Then, pointing to 
the chair, " What is this 1 " etc. Then the question 
comprehending all, " What do you see in the school- 
room ? " " The table, the chair, the bench, the window," 
etc. The teacher writes on a slate the names of the 
objects which one or several have named, and requests 
the pupils to repeat the names in chorus. Again the 
teacher asks : " Are the table and the chair in the same 
relation to the school-room as the door and the win- 
dow ? " "Yes— no." "Why yes — why no? What 
are the door and the window with regard to the room ? " 
" They are parts of the room." " Name all the things 
which you think are parts of the room." " Walls, ceil- 
ing, floor, etc. — all these are parts of the room." 

"As the door, the window, etc., are parts of the 
room, so the room is a part of some greater whole." 
" Yes, of the house." " What other parts has the 
house ? " " The hall-way, the sitting-room, the bed- 
room, kitchen, etc., are parts of the house." It is quite 
desirable, for the training of perception and language, 
that the pupils should together repeat the answers in 
proper form. 

"Again, have all houses the same parts as this 
house ? " " No." " What parts which other houses have 
not do you find in this house ? What parts do you find 
in other houses, but not in this house? What deter- 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 253 

mines the importance of tlie parts and rooms of a 
house ? " " The use and purpose of the house." " What 
are the most important parts of a complete dwelling- 
house ? " 

" Besides the objects that are parts of this room, you 
named some that are not parts, but which jou see in 
the room ; name some of them again." " Chairs, tables, 
flower-pots, books, etc." " Do chairs, tables, etc., stand 
in the same relation to the room as flower-pots, books, 
etc.?" "No." "Why not?" "Chairs, tables, etc., 
are necessary to the room. Objects that are necessary 
to a room make up the furniture of tlie room." " Name 
all things which you know to belong to the furniture 
of a room. Has each of the other rooms of the house 
its particular kinds of furniture ? " " Yes, the kitchen, 
the bed-room, etc." " What things belong to the kitch- 
en, the bed-room, etc. I " " These things are called 
kitchen-utensils, etc." 

" Are there in the house things that do not belong 
to a particular room ? " " Yes " (naming some). " All 
things that belong to the house are the house-furniture. 
Name all things you know as house-furniture." 

" The house has its deflnite parts, or rooms. Now, 
is the house again a part of a greater whole ? " " Yes ; 
the homestead (the premises)." " What things are parts 
of the homestead ? " " The court-yai'd, the garden, the 
dwelling-house, the barn, the stable, etc." " The movable 
objects which belong in the court-yard are the furniture 
(implements) of the yard. All movable objects that 
belong in the garden are garden-implements," etc. 

" As the house is a part of the homestead, so is the 
homestead a part of a greater whole ? " " Yes ; of the 



254 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

village." " What tilings make up the village ? " " Houses, 
barns, gardens, homesteads, churches, schools, etc." 
"What kinds of houses do you find ? " " Farm houses, 
shops, stores, etc." "What belongs in a shop ? What 
belongs in the church ? What is around the village ? " 
" The township." " What have you seen in the town- 
ship ? " " Mountains, valleys, roads, etc." 

From this point the study of the earth's surface 
(geography) becomes an independent subject of in- 
struction. 

The study of surroundings has this peculiarity that 
all the studies of particular things or classes of things 
branch out from it at certain necessary places, like the 
buds on the boughs of a tree. This will be seen again 
and again in a natural and rational course of instruc- 
tion. In general, the proper place for beginning with 
a new, distinct subject of instruction, is necessarily 
and regularly determined like the ramification of sym- 
metrically organized plants. 

It is trae that the indications for this, like the be- 
ginnings of a new bud, are often very indistinct. Fre- 
quently they manifest themselves only in the mind and 
soul of the teacher who gives himself up thoughtfully 
to the requirements and relationships of the subject ; 
or who is so full of the subject that he sees its require- 
ments intuitively, as it were. If the moment of the 
natural budding of the new subject of instruction has 
been missed, every later effort arbitrarily to introduce 
the subject lacks life ; and, although the subject may 
be necessary, it will always seem extraneous, dead, and 
will continue to behave as such. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 255 

Every teacher wlio in true love and fidelity seeks a 
truly natural and rational instruction must have felt 
this often and painfully when, in foolish subjection to 
rule and custom, or in ignorance or dullness, he has 
missed this moment of new budding. He will labor 
without success ; the connections of his course of in- 
struction will be like those of a limber-jack; his in- 
struction will be empty and dull, like the noise of a 
toy mill. 

Therefore, for the purposes of a living, life-giving, 
and life-stirring instruction, it is most important to note 
the moment, the proper place, for the introduction of 
a new branch of instruction. The distinctive character 
of a natural and rational life-stirring and developing 
system of instruction lies in the finding and fixing of 
this point. For, when it is truly found, the subject of 
instruction grows independently in accordance with its 
own living law, and truly teaches the teacher himself. 
Therefore, the whole attention of the teacher must be 
directed to these budding-points of new branches of 
instruction. To neglect tliis will, in its consequences, 
lead to an unnatural and incoherent course of instruc- 
tion (see §§ 81, 82). 

After this digression we return to the course to be 
pursued in the observation of the external world. 

" In the surrounding country you see trees, steeples, 
rocks, springs, walls, forests, villages, etc. Consider 
again these and all other things you can see, and tell me 
if each one is the only thing of its kind, or if several 
may be classified together as being similar.'' " Several 
things may be classified together as being similar." 



256 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

" Name several objects which you can thus classify to- 
gether." 

"If you go on comparing these things with each 
other, do you find an important difference between 
them?" "Yes; some things grow in nature (natu- 
rally) ; others are made by men. The former are nat- 
ural objects, the work of nature ; the latter, artificial 
objects, the works of man." "Name several natural 
objects that you know." " Trees, fields, grass, etc." 
" Name also several artificial objects that you know." 
" "Walls, hedges, roads, etc." " Are fields and meadows 
purely artificial ? " " Yes — no." " Why ? Are hedges, 
vineyards, etc., purely artificial ? " " No." " Why not ? " 
" Such things we may call natural and artificial objects 
(works of nature and of man)." " Name several such 
objects in your surroundings." (To be followed by 
repetition in concert, as usual.) 

"Name several natural objects in your surround- 
ings, examine them more closely, compare them with 
one another, and see if you can find other great differ- 
ences by which you can classify them — e. g., tree, rock, 
stone, river, bird, oak, stag, pine-tree, thunder, light- 
ning, air, etc." " There are differences among them by 
which they can be classified." "What are they?" 
" The bird, the stag, etc., are animals ; the oak, the 
pine, etc., are plants ; the stone, air, etc., are minerals ; 
thunder, lightning, etc., are natural phenomena." " Name 
all the animals you know ; all the plants, etc." 

Then follow observations of animals with reference 
to the locality they inhabit ; yielding classes of domes- 
tic animals, animals of the field, of the woods ; terres- 
trial, aquatic, amphibious, aerial animals. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 257 

Similarly, plants are considered and classified as 
house - plants, hot -house plants, garden - plants, marsh- 
plants, parasites, etc. ; then follow minerals, though these 
yield few points for comparison ; and, lastly, the various 
natural phenomena are arranged as terrestrial, aerial, 
aquatic, and igneous phenomena. 

Subsequently it is found that, because of the locality 
they inhabit, natural objects are near or more or less 
remote with respect to man ; and the question is raised 
concerning the influence of this nearness or remoteness 
on their mode of life, their behavior, or their qualities. 
It is found that the nearer natural objects, exposed to 
the influence of man, are weaker, more sensitive, need- 
ing care, more docile, etc. ; indeed, more tarae^ and that 
the remoter objects are more crude, more wild. 

Tame and wild animals are then named. The tame 
animals may be classified with reference to their uses as 
beasts of burden, of draught, etc. Wild animals, too, 
may be considered as useful or noxious. Similarly, 
plants are studied; and even with minerals this may 
be done. 

Again, natural objects may be considered with refer- 
ence to the time of their api^earance ; yielding ideas of 
winter and summer fruit ; spring, summer, and fall 
flowers, etc. The swallow is recognized as a summer 
bird, the lark as a spring bird, etc. 

With reference to time and place combined, we may 
consider the animals, particularly the birds, learning to 
distinguish these as migratory and resident birds. 

Of great importance in the consideration of animals 
is their mode of life, yielding ideas of carnivorous, 
herbivorous, etc., animals. 



258 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Here follows directly, as a new, distinct branch of 
instruction, the study of natural history, first in its 
more descriptive, then in its anatomical and physiolog- 
ical features. Similarly, at an earlier period, the con- 
sideration of natural phenomena depending on the 
operation of physical forces pointed io jphysics as a new 
branch of instruction ; this is indicated, too, in the study 
of minerals. 

The consideration of the animals affecting man most 
nearly through use and injury furnishes the transition 
from the general observation of nature to physics and 
natural history. There follows now the distinction 
between viviparous and oviparous animals — between the 
oviparous that hatch their eggs, and those that leave the 
hatching of their eggs to the sun, etc. 

Physics and natural history, subsequently, are con- 
cerned primarily with external differences and resem- 
blances, their conditions and causes, their effects and 
consequences, and, particularly, with the consequent 
logical grouping of similar natural objects ; with the 
study of those external properties in which the inner 
nature of the object finds its most unequivocal and 
characteristic external expression. 

In thus ascending from tlie particular to the general, 
and then descending again from the general to the par- 
ticular, in this fluctuation of the instruction — more par- 
ticularly in the observation of the outer world — the 
course of instruction resembles life closely ; and it be- 
comes possible to exhaust the limits of knowledge with 
reference to each subject for each successive stage of 
mental development and power. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 259 

Up to this point natural objects have been studied 
with reference to all obvious, external characteristics of 
time, place, mode of life, etc. Now the works of man 
(artificial objects) are to be subjected to a similar exter- 
nal scrutiny. 

[The pupil * is requested to enumerate the works of 
man in the surrounding district (the house, the village, 
the road, the bridge, the wall, the plow, etc.) ; he finds 
their differences in origin, material, use, and purpose ; 
he finds those that give him shelter, those that serve as 
implements, those that facilitate intercourse, those that 
give pleasure, and those that are simply the products of 
human skill and thought. 

He finds the characteristics of villages and cities; of 
the different private, industrial, and public buildings of 
a city ; of workshops, factories, stores, and magazines ; 
of the different kinds of workshops, etc. He studies 
each workshop and factory with reference to its particu- 
lar tools and purposes. 

He distinguishes among the various kinds of stores 
by their contents : those that keep food-products, 
sold chiefly by weight ; those that keep artificial pro- 
ducts (dry-goods), sold chiefly by measures of length, 
etc. 

The public buildings, too, are distinguished and 
grouped by their purposes and uses, as educational, de- 
votional, charitable, etc. 

* The matter included in brackets [ — ] is a full synopsis of the sub- 
jects presented in quasi-catechetical style, as in the outset of this section. 
— Tr. 



260 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

Subsequently, tlie pupil ascends in his study from 
the work to the workman, from the product to the pro- 
ducer, from the effect to the cause, therefore from 
human works to man (as from the study of nature he 
ascended to her creator, to God). He finds the names 
of the workmen in different kinds of workshops (carpen- 
ters, etc.), and classifies these workmen in accordance 
with the character of the place in which they work, the 
material on which they work, and the kind of work 
they do. 

He then learns to classify the various products of 
human activity in accordance with certain internal 
characteristics, such as the material of which they are 
made (stone, earthenware, wood, etc.), the use to which 
they are put, etc. 

Similarly the uses of public buildings are considered 
(of the court-house, the school-house, the church, etc.), 
as well as the official names of the persons who are oc- 
cupied in these buildings. Cities are then classified- 
Other occupations of men (hunters, fishermen, etc.) are 
considered. 

At last, questions are asked concerning the common 
features and the ultimate aim of all human work ; and it 
is found that all men live together, grouped in a com- 
mon relationship, that of the family,] 

" Since * all men live and have lived in families, 
and since the highest and ultimate aim of all men is 
the clearest consciousness of and purest representation 
of their God-given nature, where can all men be most 

* Oa account of the great importance of the family in Froebel's view 
of education, I here give his complete catechism of this phase. — Tr. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 261 

Burely and effectively prepared and developed for the 
attainment of this aim ? " " In the family." " What 
are the external conditions of a family, and who are its 
most important members ? " " Father, mother, chil- 
dren and servants." " What now must be the condi- 
tion of a family, if it is to prepare and develop the 
human being for the attainment of the highest and 
ultimate purpose of life ? " " They must know this ul- 
timate purpose and the means for its attainment ; they 
must be agreed concerning the ways and means to be 
adopted ; they must aid and support each other in all 
they do, having only this purpose in. view." " If a 
single family should fulfill these conditions, would it 
thereby be enabled to attain the purpose of man in and 
through itself ? " " No." " Why not ? " " Because a 
single family can not possess all the means for this pur- 
pose." " How, then, can the ultimate purpose of man 
be attained more easily and surely ? " " When several 
families, who appreciate the highest purpose of man and 
who agree concerning the means for its attainment, 
unite for the sake of aiding and supporting one an- 
other in this work," " Only humanity as a whole, 
as a unit, can fully attain the highest and ultimate pur- 
pose of human striving, the representation of pure hu- 
manity." 

Thus the pupil in a great meandering circuit has re- 
turned to the home from which he started ou his explor- 
ings of nature and the outer world, has returned to the 
center of all earthly human endeavor ; but with en- 
larged and keener powers of observation, although the 
objects of the outer world have been brought to his 
notice only in their external phases of being. He has 
25 



262 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

found man in liis various relations to tlie things of the 
outer world ; he has found himself. 

This subject of instruction, as the first one, has been 
presented in a detailed and suggestive manner, in order 
to emphasize how all instruction should start from the 
pupil and his nearest surroundings, and should again 
return to him. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that the last of the 
above answers neither can nor should be given by the 
pupil in their completeness and connection, even though 
he may have grown in years ; but the thoughts which 
they contain should be awakened in the pupil, and for 
this he is sufficiently developed even at a comparatively 
low stage of judgment. 

Nor is it necessary to say that, because instruction is 
to be connected wholly with the boy's locality, in par- 
ticular applications all things are to be excluded that lie 
beyond his circle of experience. It was the intention 
merely to show how the study of nature and the outer 
world, in accordance with a law and development of its 
own, embraces in one unbroken unity all that nature and 
the outer world may bring to the notice of the student. 
Yet these considerations will present themselves, for in- 
stance, in the study of commerce and of the higher 
mental activities of man, as well as of all the various 
pursuits of man ; and the more obscure and the rarer 
they are, the more is it desirable to hold them fast in 
order to reach with their aid higher and more remote 
developments. For who can fail to see that the con- 
tinual extension of, at least, external culture brings to 
the notice of the inhabitants of even the most secluded 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY, 263 

spots ever new things, and that tlie knowledge and con- 
trol of more remote and liigher relations of life are 
becoming more and more what they ought to be — a 
task for mankind as a whole. 

Again, it was not deemed necessary to indicate for 
the thoughtful reader — and only thoughtful persons 
ought to teach — the various budding-points for each 
new branch of instruction : e. g., for physics, in the con- 
sideration of natural phenomena resulting from the ob- 
vious activity of inner forces ; and for chemistry, in the 
consideration of other natural phenomena in which the 
qualities of material were changed through the influence 
of certain natural energies, such as light or heat, as in 
the discoloring of leaves in fall, decay, etc. 

In general, it is best that the teacher should find 
these points himself ; his knowledge will then be more 
vivid and his instruction will gain in interest. And 
why should not every thoughtful teacher find the 
right way in himself, if only he gives himself up in 
faithful obedience, and without conceit and distrust, to 
the guidance of the spirit of his work. In all human 
beings there lives and acts the one divine spirit; 
therefore, even the most experienced teacher, when 
he teaches again even the simplest thing, will learn 
again — will, teaching, learn again — (at least, this is the 
experience of the writer to this day). How else could 
the teacher maintain his energy and courage, which 
are lost so easily through the hinderances and difii- 
culties that arbitrary ignorance and prejudice oppose 
to his work ? 

Hence, it is well to meet at once the objection that 
it is foolish to expect a boy — particularly between the 



264 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

ages of six and eiglit, as here indicated — to have this de- 
tailed knowledge of things which even adults scarcely 
possess. 

It is not the intention that he should possess it, but 
it should gradually come to him in the course of the 
instruction ; and it will surely so come to him, as re- 
peated experience with the course here indicated has 
abundantly shown. At the same time, it arouses in the 
pupil such a keenness of observation that scarcely any- 
thing of importance in the objects around will escape 
him, and he will readily find the proofs of the teach- 
ings of earlier lessons. Thus, the young human being 
learns at an early period to observe and to thinh. Be- 
sides, boys (human beings) know more than they are 
clearly conscious of. 

It might yet be objected that such a course leads 
the boy too soon out of his naturally narrow limits, 
and might render him proud of his varied knowl- 
edge. 

Yaried knowledge in necessary living connection 
never makes one proud, but causes man to reflect, and 
teaches him how little he really knows ; thus he is hfted 
in his humanity and adorned with that most precious 
jewel, modesty. 

But it is impossible to meet all the objections that 
have been or might be made. Therefore, we leave the 
course to the consideration of the reader, though much 
might yet be said of its importance. Rightly under- 
stood and handled, it may be used in the least favored 
schools ; for it places man at an early period in the cen- 
ter of all and in inner connection with all that is offered 
to man for his external study. Thus he is led to reflect, 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 265 

and gains an insiglit into the character, origin, and pur- 
pose of all tilings. This, and the proper use of this, is 
the ultimate aim of all instruction, whatever its name. 



D. MEMORIZING OF SHORT POETICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF NATURE 
AND LIFE, PARTICULARLY FOR PURPOSES OF SONG. 

§ 92. Kature and life, in their phenomena, speak to 
man at a very early period ; but thej speak in tones so 
low that the still undeveloped sense of the boy, the 
still untrained ear of man at this stage of development, 
while hearing these tones, can not interpret them and 
translate them into its own language. Yet, soon after 
the first dawn of the consciousness of self as distinct 
from the outer world, there are aroused in man the 
longing to understand life and language of the external 
world, particularly of nature, and the hope that he will 
one day receive into himself and make his own the life 
that confronts him on every side. 

The seasons come and go as regularly as the times of 
the day : Spring, with its tide of new growth and wealth 
of blossoms, fills man (even in boyhood) with gladness 
and new life ; the blood flows faster and the heart beats 
louder. Autumn, with its falling brilliant and fragrant 
leaves, fills man (even as boy) with a sense of longing 
and hope. And rigid but clear and steady winter 
awakens courage and vigor ; and these feelings of cour- 
age, vigor, perseverance, and renunciation fill the boy's 
soul with a sense of freedom and joy. Therefore, the 
joy with which he greets the first flowers and birds of 
spring is scarcely as jubilant as that with which he 
hails the first snowflakes that promise to his vigor and 



266 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

courage a smooth, quick road on wbich to flj to the dis- 
tant goal.* 

All these things are presentiments of later life — 
hieroglyphics of a still-life slumbering as yet in the 
soul ; rightly understood, they are angels that guide 
man through life. Therefore, man should not lose 
them ; they should not vanish in empty vapor and mist. 

What, indeed, is there in our life, if childhood and 
youth were poor and empty, void of vigorous, living 
forms, of the sense of longing, hope, and faith that lifts 
life, deprived of the sense and consciousness of our 
nobler self ? Are not childhood and youth, are not the 
longings, the hope and faith of childhood and youth, 
the exhaustless fountains of strength, courage, and per- 
severance in later life? Do not the words, "The 
heavens declare the glory of God," etc., and " Blessed 
is he who fears the Lord," etc., express the funda- 
mental thought of the psalmist's life, in spite of all 
his errors ? 

Even though this was not expressed in words in his 
earliest life, it yet appears from his later life that it 
moved and lived in him even in his earliest life. And 
did not the first of these psalms mirror his observation 
of nature, and the second his observation of life ? 

Was not this, too, the fundamental thought in the 
life of the Saviour ? Witness his sayings : " Consider 
the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. God 
clothes and feeds them ; how much more will he care 
for man, his child, in all the events of life ? " and " I 
must be about my Father's business ! " Are not both 

* A reference to skating and coasting, the boy's delight in winter. — Tr. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 267 

of these based upon a thouglitful observation of nature 
and life ? 

However, not only do nature and life speak to man, 
but man, too, would express the thoughts and feelings 
that are awakened in him, and for which he can not 
find words ; and these should be given him in accord- 
ance with the requirements of his soul-development. 

The relation between man and man is neither as 
superficial as some people suppose nor as readily com- 
municable in its inwardness as others think. It is, in- 
deed, of deep meaning and high significance ; but its 
soft chords must be early cared for in the boy, though 
rather more indirectly and by reflection than directly 
in argument and precept. The direct precept fetters, 
hinders, represses ; it drills the child and makes a pup- 
pet of him. The indirect suggestion — e. g., in the mir- 
ror of a song without moralizing applications — gives to 
the soul and will of the boy inner freedom, which is so 
necessary for his development and growth ; only, here 
again, the outer and inner life of the boy — and this is 
the first and indispensable requisite — must be in full 
accord with it. 

The more rarely and vaguely this may appear in 
life, the more it should be fostered wherever it is pos- 
sible to do so. Even instruction that scarcely touches 
life — even the school, generally quite distinct from life 
— should foster it. 

Let us enter a school-room — a school-room where 
instruction in this sense and spirit has just begun. 
Twelve or more lively boys, six to nine years old, ai'e 
assembled. They know that to-day again they are to 



268 



THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 



have tlie pleasure of singing under tlie guidance of their 
teacher. In jjroper order they await the beginning of 
the instruction, of the lesson, as they call it. The teach- 
er had been called away in the afternoon ; it is evening. 
He enters, and greets them repeatedly in song : 



^ 



I 



Good even - ing. 

This song-greeting comes unexpectedly so near their 
inner life that it fills them with pleasure, joy, and mer- 
riment. 

Then the teacher says : " Shall I have no answer ? " 
and sings again the same greeting. Most of them an- 
swer in spoken words, " Good evening " ; some say, 
" Thanks " ; a few say, in a more singing tone, " Good 
evening." 

These the teacher now addresses particularly, saying, 
"Sing the 'Good evening' tome." Softly one sings, 



S 



-d—^- 



1 



Good even - ing. 

A second one, full of merriment, 



■^- 



A third, 



Good even - ing. 



Good even - ing. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 



269 



Others whom the teacher addresses sing in about the 
same tone after him, " Good evening." 

Then he sings to all as the first, second, etc., had 
answered, and has all to repeat these strains after him. 

He then continues recitatively, as it were : 




:1^ 



^^ 



Bleak and win - try is tlie sky. 



" Is this true ? " he asks. " "Well, then, let us sing 
it all together." 

Again he continues : 



- ^-^- 



I 



Winds whis - tie througli tlie tree - tops. 

" Is this, also, true ? "Well, then, let us sing this to- 
gether." Then one who feels and can express the truth 
of these words most fully, sings it alone. 

Following the feelings awakened bj the season, and 
expressing them in the description of the natural phe- 
nomena, the instruction proceeds in antiphonic song. 

The instruction is to develop ear and voice simulta- 
neously ; it is to express the feeling in word and sound. 
If on the next day the external circumstances are simi- 
lar to those of to-day, instruction again begins and con- 
tinues similarly. At last, a lively boy, having sung the 
same thing again and again, asks : " May we not soon 
have a song about the sunshine?" This question ex- 
presses the boy's inner wish that the sun might shine 
again after the long-continued rain and fog and blus- 



'270 



THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 



tering wind. The teaclier, responding to this feeling, 
sings to the boy : 



:]^ 



^rf= 



^-^ 



^ 



m 



Sunshine, laughing, sparkling, bright; Sunshine, laugh a- way the night. 

Full of joy, all the boys repeat it together. 

These first lessons have been selected here, because 
their topic is by no means the most favorable. Bleak, 
chilly fall-days, a wet and cold evening, do not call 
forth the inner life. The morning, the spring, a walk 
on a beautiful spring day, a cozy place on the slope of a 
hill, etc., would have been better fitted to arouse inner 
life. However, the boys whose expectation has been 
stimulated by this instruction surely will welcome only 
the more joyously the first clear day, revealing the 
fields clothed in their dress of snow, or the first clear, 
serene moonlit and starlit evening. Only the more fer- 
vently and feelingly will they sing to the new spring : 
Welcome to the wami blue sky. 
Welcome to the blossoms gay, 
Welcome grass and herbs and leaves. 
Decking fields and groves for May. 
or some other suitable spring song. There are many 
well-known good collections of songs and small poems 
from which selections may be made by a teacher living 
in his work and filled with a sense of its worth. If 
these are not sufiiciently simple and impressive in de- 
scription or representation of particular sentiments or 
thoughts, an attentive, thoughtful teacher can easily in- 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 2T1 

terpret the tbonglits and feelings of tlie boys as well as 
the phases of nature in living, fitting words. 

[Here follow a few quotations of songs referring to 
a number of varied relationships : songs in which the 
children view their own life (Oh, how great is our 
pleasure, When together we play. When alone without 
playmates, We are never so gay) ; songs in which indi- 
vidual life is pictured (Come, little dove, and get your 
food, The corn in my hand is sweet and good) ; songs 
that symbolize the life of animals (songs of birds and 
bees, illustrating affection and industry) ; songs concern- 
ing the relations of human beings to one another (songs 
of mother-love, of trades, of helpfulness and sym- 
pathy) ; etc.] 

We should not forget, however, that this instruction 
— if, in view of its representing the child's own life, it 
may be called instruction — should start from the pupil's 
own life, and proceed from it like a bud or sprout. The 
boy should have the feeling, the inner life, before he 
receives the words or melodies. This is the essential 
difference between the instruction suggested here and 
that in which cliildren learn mechanically small songs 
and poems coming wholly from without, neither arous- 
ing life nor representing it. 

In general, indeed, all that was said concerning the 
memorizing of religious maxims — particularly at the 
outset — is true here. 

[Like other material of instruction, songs should not at these 
early periods be learned for their own sake. They should come as 
the quasi-spontaneous expression of certain emotional conditions, as 
language expresses spontaneously certain intellectual states. The 
teacher should bring the song at the right time as her own way of 



272 THE EDUCATION OF MAN, 

expressing delight or some other feeling, should sing it to enliven the 
game or the work, or after a suitable story. In this way the interest 
of the majority of the children would be enlisted ; they would get 
the spirit of the song, and would be able to repeat or use much, pos- 
sibly all, of it after the very first time. 

Of course, much depends on the character of the song and its 
adaptation to the child's wants. Much hinderance, too, comes from 
the excessive use of the piano. This instrument should not be iised 
until the children thoroughly possess the song, so that the instni- 
ment may accompany them instead of teaching them. Because of 
the unavoidable inaccuracies of its intervals it is a poor teacher, but 
by good tempering it may be made a helpful accompanist. 

The words of the song should be neither too puerile, as in " Little 
Bo Peep," nor beyond the child's comprehension ; the pitch of the 
melodies should be neither too high nor, particularly, too low. The 
singing of scales and interval exercises should be relegated to later 
periods. Even, with the help of colors, these exercises are unsuitable 
for earlier periods, inasmuch as they give too much prominence to 
singing as a branch of instruction. — Tr.] 



E. LANGUAGE-EXERCISES, BASED ON THE OBSERVATION OF NATURE 
AND SURROUNDINGS. 

§ 93. The observation of nature and surroundings 
considers things merely as such with reference to their 
individual peculiarities and their general, more particu- 
larly local, relations. Language, as a means of observa- 
tion, plays a subordinate part in this ; for man observes 
things and forms ideas concerning them without speak, 
ing ; but in instruction language comes in as an auxil- 
iary in order to furnish tests of the extent and accuracy 
of the pupil's observations. 

Now language-exercises, too, are connected with ob- 
jects, but they consider objects with reference to their 
impressions on the senses, and are chiefly concerned 
with the designations of these things in words. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 273 

Observation of nature and surroundings is con- 
cerned witli the objects tliemselves, language-exercises 
chiefly witli their representation m audible speech, and 
particularly with practice and skill in language as a 
means of representation, though in intimate connection 
with the objects themselves. The observation of nature 
and surroundings asks : " What is ? " Language-exer- 
cise asks: "How does language designate that which 
is?" 

"While the observation of nature and surroundings 
considers only the object as such, language-exercises 
consider its eifect on the senses of man and the proper 
designation of these impressions by words. This im- 
plies at once a third field of observation, the observation 
of language as sucli and without reference to the object 
designated, but only as a result of the use of the organs 
of speech. These are gramTnatical exercises, and are 
based directly on the language-exercises. 

Complete preparation for a thorough knowledge of 
language and thorough skill in its use implies, therefore, 
three things : First, the observation of the sensuous ob- 
jects of language — the observation of the outer world ; 
secondly, the observation of language and objects in 
connection with one another, passing from the outer to 
the inner world — exercises in language ; lastly, observa- 
tion of language as such, without reference to the ob- 
jects designated — grammatical exercises. 

The course of instruction in the observation of sur- 
roundings has already been indicated. The course of 
instruction in language-exercises, based on sense-observa- 
tion and rising to inner perception, is the following : 
26 



274 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

The teacher begins : " We are in a room ; many 
things are around us; name some of these things?" 
" Mirror, stove, book-case, etc." " Could we put other 
things into the room ? " " Yes." " Could we put as 
many things into the room as we please ? " " No." 
" Why not ? " " Because there would not be room 
enough for them." "Why would there not be room 
enough ? " " Because each thing takes up its own 
room." " Prove and illustrate that." " My hand can 
not be where my slate is. Where I write, my neighbor 
can not write at the same time. Where the stove 
stands, there is not room at the same time for the book- 
case." " What is meant, then, by saying that each 
thing takes up its own room 'i " " Where one thing is 
or acts, no other thing can be or act." 

" In what manner and by what means do you per- 
ceive the presence and actions of things in their 
places ? " " By my hands, ears, eyes, etc." " We call 
the organs by which we perceive things otir eyes, ears, 
hands, etc., and the activities by which we do this — 
hearing, seeing, touching, etc. — our senses. We per- 
ceive things, then, by our senses." " How do we 
recognize and perceive things? Name the senses by 
which we recognize and perceive an object and its 
actions. Can we say of every object that it does some- 
thing ? " " Yes, and no." " Why ? Name of every 
object around us something it does, and by which you 
notice it." " The mirror hangs, the sun shines, the 
scholar sits, etc." 

[Froebel here continues in the same strain to develop 
successively a number of related ideas, as indicated in 
the subjoined translator's synopsis : 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 2T5 

First, the fact is brought out that these things are 
perceived by different senses — some chiefly by sight, 
others by hearing, etc. Particular attention is then paid 
to the sense of touch as perceiving that the inkstand 
stands, the slate lies, etc. ; and it is found that the same 
things may also be perceived by the sense of sight. 
Then objects are named which actually stand — the house 
stands, the pole stands, etc. ; others of which it is said 
that they stand (still) — the water stands (still), the sun 
stands (still), etc. Then objects are named that lie, lean, 
hang, sit, etc., and others that are said to lie, lean, etc. 
It is found that all these activities have this in common, 
that they are only internal and without external motion. 
States of internal activity with external rest in man are 
then enumerated — man rests, sleeps, dreams, thinks, etc. ; 
objects that actually rest, sleep, etc. ; objects that show 
external and at the same time progressive motion — go, 
run, flow, fly, etc. ; objects with externally visible mo- 
tion without progression — heave, swell, boil, ripen, etc. ; 
objects with external progressive motion communicated 
to other objects — draw, ride, lift, etc. ; separating activi- 
ties—cut, break, etc. ; uniting activities — bind, weave, 
etc. ; formative activities — paint, write, etc. ; activities 
that can be seen only — shine, sparkle, etc. ; activities 
that can be felt only — hurt, heat, etc. ; that can be heard 
only ; general activities of nature — storm, rain, etc. ; ob- 
jects with chiefly inner mental activity — love, hate, etc. ; 
with reflexive activity — cut one's self, wash one's self, 
etc. ; activities exclusively belonging to man ; peculiar- 
ities of such activities. 

It is then found that objects impress the senses not 
only by activities, but also by certain qualities; it is 



276 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

found that the inkstand is round, the pencil long, etc. ; 
many other actually round things are found; things 
that are said to he round — round number, round answer, 
etc, ; the distinction between the roundness of the circle 
(circular) and that of the sphere (spherical) is made, and 
objects that have these shapes are named ; from these 
he proceeds to cylindrical, oval, elhptical, triangular, etc., 
and all these impressions are united as impressions of 
form or shajpe. Similarl}^, broad, narrow, thick, etc., 
are classed as impressions of size or extent y others as 
impressions of number, surface impressions, onaterial 
impressions (wooden, leaden, etc.), of cohesion (hard, 
solid, etc.), of light and color, of odor, etc.] 

The observation of surroundings has ah-eady shown 
clearly the budding-points for the development of phys- 
ics and chemistry as future distinct subjects of instruc- 
tion (see § 91). Language-exercises, based on the obser- 
vation of nature and surroundings, in considering the 
activities and impressions of objects, and their precise 
and accurate designation by words, must revert to phys- 
ics and chemistry. They will do this the more directly, 
the more exhaustively the conditions and causes of those 
activities and impressions which result from the effects 
of inner forces and constituent material have been 
studied and the more suitably they have been designated 
by language. Surely the physical and chemical sides of 
nature-study, so important for man, will strike their 
roots the deeper in the pupil's interest the more this in- 
struction has been exhaustive of essentials. 

Unquestionably these sides of nature- and language- 
study receive too little attention in ordinary life ; for 
this reason, and because they prepare for the study of 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 277 

physics and chemistry, they should be specially consid- 
ered in this instruction, otherwise the future instraction 
in those sciences will have no basis ; it will not be a 
living branch sprouting forth spontaneously from the 
tree of human knowledge, but, at best, an ingrafted 
limb. Surely many whose senses and interest have not 
been awakened in these directions in boyhood, but who, 
nevertheless, at a later period took up these sciences, 
can corroborate this. 

On account of the importance of these studies, to 
which these language-exercises revert again and again, 
the subject is treated so much in its details. The boy 
is thereby placed in the very center of the surrounding 
external world, inasmuch as he studies things in the 
most varied relations to one another, to man, and to 
himself ; thus he finds not only himself, but establishes 
equilibrium and harmony between his inner mental cult- 
ure and the outer world of things. 

The study of number, form, and size — or mathe- 
matics — is a direct outcome of this instruction ; the 
budding-points (see § 91) for these are evident in what 
has been indicated heretofore. For the knowledge of 
number, form, and size — if at a later period they are to 
be effective and fruitful in life — must needs be based on 
the observation of actual space-relations. 

[Froebel then continues his suggestions concerning 
the course of language-lessons: "You said formerly, 
' The bush is thorny,' etc." They are taught to render 
the same thoughts in the form : " The bush has thorns, 
the tree has leaves," etc. Then they name similar rela- 
tions in which " one thing has the other thing. Man 
has hands, the hands have fingers," etc. ; they name 



278 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

things that have a skin, scales, feathers, etc. ; they are 
led to say where one thing has the other thing : " The 
tree has leaves on the branches," etc. ; they name things 
that are at rest in some way on another thing : " The pict- 
ure hangs on the wall," etc. ; other relations of position 
(at, over, nnder, between, etc.) are named and variously 
illustrated ; the name-relations of position in which one 
of the objects is in motion with reference to the other 
— the teacher comes to school, the bird flies on the tree, 
etc. ; the two relations are compared — the picture hangs 
on the wall, the picture is hung on the wall, etc. He 
concludes the paragraph in the following words :] 

The further presentation of this subject of instruc- 
tion must here be interrupted for want of space. Let 
me merely add that, in designating these relations in 
language, we should proceed from the simple to the 
complex, and conclude with a comprehensive description 
or narrative exposition of actual phenomena. 



F. EXERCISE IN SYSTEMATIC OUTWARD CORPOREAL REPRESENTATION, 
PROCEEDING FROM THE SIMPLE TO THE COMPLEX. 

§ 94. Man is developed and cultured toward the 
fulfillment of his destiny and mission, and is to be valued, 
even in boyhood, not only by what he receives and ab- 
sorbs from without, but much more by what he puts 
out and unfolds from himself. 

Experience and history, too, teach that men truly 
and effectively promote human welfare much more by 
what they put forth from themselves than by what they 
may have acquired. Every one knows that those who 
truly teach, gain steadily in knowledge and insight ; 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 279 

similarly, every one knows, for nature herself teaches 
this, that the use of a force enhances and intensifies the 
force. Again, to learn a thing in life and through do- 
ing is much more developing, cultivating, and strength- 
ening, than to learn it merely through the verbal com- 
munication of ideas. Similarly, plastic material rep- 
resentation in life and through doing, united with 
thought and speech, is by far more developing and cul- 
tivating than the merely verbal representation of ideas. 
Therefore, this subject of instruction necessarily follows 
the subjects just considered. 

The life of the boy has, indeed, no purpose but that 
of the outer representation of his self; his life is, in 
truth, but an external representation of his inner being, 
of his power, particularly in and through (plastic) ma- 
terial (see § 23, 49). 

In the forms he fashions he does not see outer forms 
which he is to take in and understand ; but he sees in 
them the expression of his spirit, of the laws and ac- 
tivities of his own mind. For the ]3urpose of teaching 
and instruction is 

to bring ever more out of man rather than to put 
more and more into him ; for that which can get into 
man we abeady know and possess as the property of 
mankind, and every one, simply because he is a hu- 
man being, will unfold and develop it out of himself 
in accordance with the laws of mankind. On the 
other hand, what yet is to come out of mankind, 
what human nature is yet to develop, that we do not 
yet know, that is not yet the property of mankind ; 
and, still, human natm-e, like the spirit of God, is 
ever unfoldino; its inner essence. 



280 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

However clearly this might and should appear from 
the observation of our own and all other life, even the 
best among us, like plants near a calcareous spring, are 
so encrusted wnth extraneous prejudices and opinions, 
that only with greatest effort and self -constraint we give 
even limited heed to the better view. Let us confess at 
least that, when, with the best intentions toward our 
children, we speak of their development and education, 
we should rather say ^/z-velopment and ■inducation ; that 
we should not even speak of culture which implies the 
development of the mind, of the will of man, but rather 
of stamping and molding, however proudly we may 
claim to have passed beyond these mind-killing practices. 

Those to whom we intrust our children for educa- 
tion may, therefore, well be full of anxiet3^ What 
shall they do ? 

Jesus, whom we all from innermost conviction con- 
sider our highest ideal, says : " Suffer the little children 
to come unto me, and forbid them not : for of such is 
the kingdom of God." Is not the meaning of this : 
Forbid them not, for the life given them by their 
heavenly Father still lives in them in its original whole- 
ness — its free unfolding is still possible with them. Do 
we not in this, as in all that Jesus says, recognize the 
voice of God ? Whom, now, shall the educator obey, 
God or man ? And v/hom, if he could do so, shall he 
deceive, God or man ? 

God he can not deceive, and men he should not de- 
ceive. Therefore, he should obey God rather than 
men, and he should say distinctly that he means to obey 
God rather than men, and do so ; he should rather not 
educate at all than to educate badly and in wrong direc- 



THE SCHOOL AND TEE FAMILY. 281 

tions. For God, and not prejudiced man, gives the true 
educator liis calling ; for only in all-sided, natural, and 
rational development of himself and his spiritual power 
man iinds his welfare and the weKare of mankind, and 
every other course hinders the true development of 
mankind. 

But just with respect to natural and rational all- 
sided development and representation of ourselves in 
external visible works, in external productive activity, 
our domestic education is most superficial and unsys- 
tematic ; therefore, domestic education is particularly in 
need of schooling — i. e., induction into a natural and 
rational system of procedure. 

The outer material representation of the spiritual in 
man must begin with efforts on his part to spiritualize 
the corporeal about him by giving it life and a spiritual 
relation and significance. 

This is indicated in the com'se of development of 
mankind itself : the corporeal material with which the 
representation of the spiritual is to begin must present 
and distinctly declare even in its external form the 
laws and conditions of inner development — it must be 
rectangular, cubical, beam-shaped, and brick-shaped. 

The formations made with this material are either 
external aggregations — constructive — or developments 
from ^\M\n.— formative. 

Building, aggregation, is first with the child, as it is 
first in the development of mankind, and in crystalli- 
zation. 

The importance of the vertical, the horizontal, and 
the rectangular is the first experience which the boy 
gathers from his building ; then follow equilibrium and 



282 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

symmetiy. Tlius lie ascends from the construction of tlie 
simplest wall with or without cement to the more com- 
plex and even to the invention of every architectural 
structure lying within tlio possibilities of the given 
material. 

Laying or arranging tablets beside one another on a 
plane has much less charm for the boy than placing or 
piling them on one another — a clear proof of the ten- 
dency of the mind for all-sided development, manifested 
in all his activities. 

The joining of lines seems to come still later. Thus, 
the course of human development and culture seems to 
free itself more and more from corporeality, to become 
more and more spiritualized ; drawing takes the place 
of the joining of concrete lines or splints ; painting, the 
place of tablet-work ; true modeling, the corporeal de- 
velopment from cubical forms, the place of corporeal 
building. 

In spite of this obvious, living, progressive develop- 
ment from the external and corporeal to the inner and 
spiritual, in spite of this continuous progression in the 
growth of human culture, some nevertheless are in- 
clined to doubt the utility of these exercises for children. 

And yet even these could not have reached the de- 
gree of general culture they enjoy, if Providence — rul- 
ing in secret — had not led them on this very way, either 
without their knowledge or through their own persever- 
ance against the opposition of their suiToundings. 

Man should, at least mentally, repeat the achieve- 
ments of mankind, that they may not be to him empty, 
dead masses, that his judgment of them may not be ex- 
ternal and spiritless; he should mentally go over the 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 283 

ways of mankind, that lie may learn to understand them. 
[Nevertheless some are inclined to consider these things 
useless in the boyhood of their children (see § 15). 

Perhaps, however, it is not necessary to go so far ; 
but you do know that your sons need energy, judgment, 
perseverance, prudence, etc., and that these things are in- 
dispensable to them ; and all these things they are sure to 
get (in the course indicated), and by far more, for idle- 
ness, ennui, ignorance, brooding, are the most terrible 
of poisons to growing childhood and boyhood, and their 
opposites a panacea of mental and physical health, of 
domestic and civil welfare. 

The course of instruction here, too, determines itself, 
as it does, indeed, in all cases when we have found the 
true starting-point, when we have apprehended the sub- 
ject of instruction and grasped its purpose. 

The material for building in the beginning should 
consist of a number of wooden blocks, whose base is 
always one square inch and whose length varies from 
one to twelve inches. If, then, we take twelve pieces 
of each length, two sets — e. g., the pieces one and eleven, 
the pieces two and ten inches long, etc. — will always 
make up a layer an inch thick and covering one square 
foot of surface ; so that all the pieces, together with a 
few larger pieces, occupy a space of somewhat more 
than half a cubic foot. It is best to keep these in a box 
that has exactly these dimensions ; such a box may be 
used in many other ways in instruction, as will appear 
in the progress of the boy's development. 

The material next to this wiU consist of building- 
bricks of such dimensions that eight of them will form 



284 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

a cube of two inches to the side. In the former set of 
blocks there was the same number of each kind and 
length. In this set, the greatest number of blocks — at 
least live hundred — are of the described brick-shape and 
size ; in addition there are successively smaller numbers 
of twice, thrice, to six times the length indicated, as 
well as some of half the length. 

The first thing the boy should learn is to distinguish, 
name, and classify the material according to size. Dur- 
ing the progress of building, too, it should always be 
carefully arranged according to size. In the next place, 
all that has been produced should be carefully and ac- 
curately described by the boy — e. g., I have built a ver- 
tical wall with vertical ends, a door, and two windows 
at equal distances ; the bricks are placed alternately, or 
so that in each upper row each brick rests on and covers 
the ends of two bricks below. 

Subsequently, a simple building with only one door 
may be put up ; then, the number of doors and windows 
is increased ; at last, partitions, another story, etc., are 
added. 

Similar considerations control the work with tablets, 
although the forms are more complicated. Still greater 
diversity is attainable with linear splints one haK to five 
inches long, with special reference to writing, drawing, 
and building. 

Modeling with paper and paste-board has its peculiar 
progressive course. 

Still more profitable, but only for those who have 
attained a certain degree of mental power, is the model- 
ing of plastic soft material in accordance with the laws 
indicated by the cubical form. However, this, as weU 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 285 

as the free modeling of the same material, belongs to a 
later part of the period of boyhood. 

[In this and the succeeding paragraphs we liave the first indica- 
tions of the sytem of gifts and occupations subsequently developed in 
Froebel's kindergarten. Even at the date of the publication of 
" Education of Man," Froebel appreciated the value of simple play- 
things, but, as the paragraphs here translated show, his ideas on 
the subject were still crude. Not before 1835, he gained from some 
children playing ball in a meadow near Burgdorf the inspiration 
that the ball is the simplest and as such should be made the first 
plaything of the little child. In 1836 he had reached the first five 
gifts, and even among these the second gift lacked the cylinder, and 
the fifth gift consisted of twenty-seven entire cubes. The cylinder 
was added to the second gift, probably not before 1844, when the 
idea of the external mediation of contrasts in educational work was 
first clearly seen and formulated by him. In a weekly journal which 
Froebel began to publish in 1850, a System of Gifts and Occupa- 
tions, similar to the one now used in kindergartens, is described. 
These are arranged by Hanschmannin thirty-six gifts, by Marenholtz- 
Biilow in eleven gifts and eight occupations, with the promise of 
more for advanced work. A few modifications and additions have 
been made since Froebel's death. So far as they seem to be in ac- 
cordance with Froebel's thought, they have been embodied with the 
Synoptical Table given below. This table gives a concise description 
of each gift where this appeared desirable; and, in the first six gifts, 
a few words are added in brackets, [ ], designating in order the chief 
external (1) and internal (2) characteristic of the gift, and the essen- 
tial lesson (3) which the gift, could it speak, is meant to teach the 
child. ■ 

SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF GIFTS AND OCCUPATIONS. 

Gifts. 

A. Bodies (Solids). 

I. [Color (1) ;— Individuality (2) ;— " We are here ! " (3).] Six 
colored worsted balls, about an inch and a half in diam- 
eter. — First Gift. 
IL [Shape (1) ; — Personality (2) ; — " We live ! " (3) .] Wooden 
ball, cylindei", and cube, one inch and a half in diameter. 
— Second Gift. 
27- 



286 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

III. [Number (divisibility) (1) ;— Self-activity (2) ;— " Come, play 

with us (3)."] Eight one-inch cubes, forming a two-inch 
cube (2 X 2 X 2).— Third Gift. 

IV. [Extent (1) ; — Obedience (2); — "Study us!" (3).] Eight 

brick-shaped blocks (2 x 1 x |), forming a two-inch cube. 
—Fourth Gift. 
V. [Symmetry (1) ;— Unity (2) ;— " How beautiful ! " (3) .] Twenty- 
seven one-inch cubes, three bisected and three quadrisected 
diagonally, forming a three-inch cube ( 3 x 3 x 3). — Fifth 
Gift. 
VI. [Proportion (1) ; — Free obedience (2) ; — " Be our master ! " 
(3).] Twenty-seven brick-shaped blocks, three bisected 
longitudinally and six bisected transversely, forming a 
three-inch cube. — Sixth Gift. 

B. Surfaces. — Wooden tablets. — Seventh Gift. 

I. Squares (derived from the faces of the second or third gift 

cubes). 

1. Entire squares (one-and-a-half in. square or one-inch 
square). 

2. Half squares (squares cut diagonally). 

II. Equilateral triangles (length of side, one inch, or one inch 
and a half). 

1. Entire triangles. 

2. Half triangles (the equilateral triangle is cut in the 
direction of the altitude, yielding right scalene tri- 
angles, acute angles of 60° and 30°). 

3. 21iirds of triangles (the equilateral triangle is cut 
from the center to the vertices, yielding obtuse isosceles 
triangles, angles 30° and 120°). 

C. Lines. — Eighth Gift. 

I. Straight. (Splints of various lengths.) 

II. Circular, (Metal or paper rings of various sizes ; whole cir- 

cles, half circles, and quadrants are used.) 

D. Points. — Beans, lentils, or other seeds, leaves, pebbles, pieces of 

card-board or paper, etc. — Ninth Gift. 

E. Reconstruction. — (By analysis the " system " has descended 

from the solid to the point. This last gift enables the child 
to reconstruct the surface and solid synthetically from the 
point. It consists of softened pease or wax pellets and sharp- 
ened sticks or straws.) — 2'enth Gift. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 287 



Occupations. 

A. Solids. (Plastic clay, card-board work, wood-carving, etc.) 

B. Surfaces. (Paper-folding, paper-cutting, parquetry, painting, 

etc.) 

C. Lines. (Interlacing, intertwining, weaving, thread games, em- 

broidery, drawing, etc.) 

D. Points. (Stringing beads, buttons, etc. ; perforating, etc.) 

The distinction between the gifts and occupations, though never 
clearly formulated by Froebel, is very important. The gifts are in- 
tended to give the child from time to time new universal aspects of 
the external world, suited to a child's development. The occupations, 
on the other hand, furnish material for practice in certain phases of 
skill. Anything will do for an occupation, provided it is sufficiently 
plastic and within the child's powers of control ; but the gift in form 
and material is determined by the cosmic phase to be brought to the 
child's apprehension, and by the conditioii of the child's development 
at the period for which the gift is intended. Thus, nothing but the 
First Gift can so effectively arouse in the child's mind the feeling 
and consciousness of a world of individual things; but there are 
numberless occupations that will enable the child to become skillful 
in the manipulation of surfaces. 

The gift gives the child a new cosmos, the occupation fixes the 
impressions made by the gift. The gift invites only arranging ac- 
tivities ; the occupation invites also controlling, modifying, trans- 
forming, creating activities. The gift leads to discovery ; the oc- 
cupation, to invention. The gift gives insight; the occupation, 
power. 

The occupations are one-sided ; the gifts, many-sided, universal. 
The occupations touch only certain phases of being ; the gifts en- 
list the whole being of the child. 

Froebel has formulated four conditions which true gifts should 
satisfy : 

1. They should, each in its time, fully represent the child's outer 
world, his macrocosm. 

2. They should, each in its time, enable the child to give satis- 
factory expression in play to his inner world, his microcosm. 

3. Each gift should, therefore, in itself represent a complete, 
orderly whole or unit. 



288 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

4. Each gift should contain all the preceding, and foreshadow 
all the succeeding gifts. 

In short, each gift should, in due time and in the widest sense, 
aid the child " to make the external internal, the internal external, 
and to find the unity between the two." — Tr.] 



Q. DRAWING IN THE NET-WORK, OR IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUTWARD 

LAW. 

§ 95. However little we may appreciate the fact or 
be able to account for it, the horizontal and vertical 
directions mediate our apprehension of all forms. We 
refer, however unconsciously, all forms to these direc- 
tions. In our imagination we constantly draw these 
lines across our field of vision ; we see and think accord- 
ing to these ; and thus there grows in our conscious- 
ness a net-work of lines keeping pace in clearness and 
distinctness with, our consideration of the forms of 
things. 

Now form, and whatever may depend on form, 
reveals in various ways inner spiritual energy. To rec- 
ognize this inner energy is a part of man's destiny ; for 
thereby he learns to know himself, his relation to his 
surroundings, and, consequently, absolute being. It is, 
therefore, an essential part of human education to teacli 
the human being, not only how to apprehend but also 
how to represent form ; and, inasmuch as the perpen- 
dicular relations (of the vertical and horizontal) aid the 
development of form-consciousness, the external repre- 
sentation of these relations as a means for the study and 
representation of form is based on the very nature of 
man and of the subject of instruction. 

Now, if the representation of the vertical and hori- 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 289 

zontal directions is repeated at regular intervals, the re- 
sult is a network of equal squares. 

As an auxiliary form, the square very much facili- 
tates representations in the field of vision, particularly in 
enlarged and reduced scales. By this fact its use is still 
further justified. 

The use of the triangle as a help in the study and 
representation of form is derived, as will be seen in the 
course of the instruction, from the use of the square. 

In the use of the square, the amount of inclination 
(of a line) is determined by measurable relations to the 
sides, but in the use of the triangle it is determined 
directly by its measurable relation to the perpendicular. 
Eoth find their application, and should be practiced in 
instruction, the latter, however, at a higher stage of de- 
velopment. 

Another necessary requisite of instruction is not 
only that the form should be represented with ease, but 
also that the representation should be easily erased. 
This is met by the slate and slate-pencil. This, then, 
implies as the first requisite in this instraction a slate 
ruled in a network of equal squares. 

The size of the squares, too, as will appear in the 
course of instruction, is by no means indifferent. If 
the distances between the lines are too small, the repre- 
sentations will appear trivial ; if the distances are too 
great, the representations will be too large for the pu- 
pil's power of simultaneous survey ; the distance of one- 
fourth inch is the best. 

The first business of this branch of instruction is to 
exercise the pupil with the help of this ruled slate in the 
clear representation and, consequently, perception of 



290 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

the chief fundamental relations of form and extent. 
The course of instruction itself is connected with former 
corporeal perceptions ; where the boy — as was shown 
particularly in the previous paragraph — learned to dis- 
tinguish different lengths. 

Thus, this branch of instruction, too, as will be 
shown in the course of instniction to be sketched di- 
rectly, is connected with those previously considered ; 
for, as has been said before, there should be no break 
anywhere in the instruction, nothing should stand de- 
tached and isolated ; but, like life itself, all things to- 
gether, in the living union of cause and effect, should 
constitute an inwardly connected whole. 

The course of instruction is as follows : 
In one of the grooved sides of one of the squares 
the teacher draws a line of the length of this side (one- 
fourth inch), and says as he draws the line : " I draw a 
vertical hne." Then he asks the pupil : " What did 
I do ? " The pupil answers : " You have drawn a 
vertical line." " Draw now a row of such vertical lines 
across the slate." "When this has been done to the 
teacher's satisfaction, he continues: "What have you 
done ? " "I have drawn many vertical lines," the pupil 
answers. When several pupils are instructed simul- 
taneously, the teacher, after examining the work of 
each, may ask them in common : " What have you 
done?" "We have," etc. 

On account of their varied usefulness, these questions 
and answers should never be omitted in this branch of 
instruction ; for man is to translate the representation 
into word and thought, and interpret word and thought 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. £91 

in tlie representation — this essentially constitutes iiis 
humanitj. 

[Froebel now continues similarly — drawing and ask- 
ing questions — with lines of two, three, four, and five 
times the length of the first, and then goes on :] 

By drawing the lines themselves in the network, the 
pupil strengthens and liberates his hand, as well as his 
powers of perception and representation. 

Since, for the purposes of perception and memory, 
the convparison of dissimilars is more profitable than 
that of similars, vertical lines of the different lengths are 
then drawn side by side with the customary comments 
and exercises. 

The instruction does not here pass beyond the five- 
fold length, because with the number ^•yg all subsequent 
numerical differences are at least indicated. In fact, 
these differences are indicated abeady in the numbers 
one, two, and three, inasmuch as these contain odd, 
even, square, and cubic numbers ; and nearly all these 
relations are repeated in the series one to five, and thus 
become sufficiently clear for the purposes of representa- 
tion. Besides, six is only tliree doubled or two trebled, 
and seven in this respect is similar to five ; so that these 
and all subsequent exercises do not go beyond five. 

In these comparative arrangements of lines, a num- 
ber of variations may be made to suit the needs particu- 
larly of weaker pupils. Thus, the lines may have their 
upper or lower ends lying in the same horizontal line ; 
in either case, the shortest or the longest line may be 
drawn first on the right or on the left. Such variations 
are quite useful, particularly where it is desirable to 
avoid ennui by presenting the same exercise under 



292 



THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 



different forms; yet their use should be left to tlie 
teacher. 

{Translator's Synopsis. — In a similar way the hori- 
zontal lines are worked through. Then vertical and 
horizontal lines are combined and compared ; for this 
purpose it is thought best to have the two kinds of lines 
meet in a point. These combinations may be made in 

different directions, as shown in these figures: | | 

I |. It is suggested that, in order to facilitate com- 
parison, the longer lines should always include the 
shorter ones, thus : 



r n 



Subsequently, the vertical and horizontal lines differ 
in length, one being made two, three, etc., times the 
length of the other ; or one half, one third, etc., of the 
other. Considerable stress is laid on this genetic differ- 
ence : when the shorter line is drawn first, the longer 
line appears as a multiple of the shorter; when the 
longer line is drawn first, the shorter appears as a part 
of the longer. 

These exercises are followed by the drawing of 
squares and oblongs. In the latter, the distinction be- 
tween "long" and "high" oblongs is emphasized; in 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 293 

the former, the horizontal dimension is greater, in the 
latter, the vertical dimension is greater. 

Then follow exercises in the drawing of diagonals, 
the chief purpose of which is " the clear perception and 
accurate representation of the inclination." In the 
combinations, a number of characteristic terms help 
these developments. The diagonal of a square has the 
full slant ; that of an oblong, in which one side is one 
half the other, has the lialf slant, etc. Slanting lines 
that are nearer the horizontal side of the oblong are said 
to be falling j others that approach more the vertical 
side are said to be rising. In the exercises, he begins 
with lines of full slant drawn outward from a common 
center in all directions, then inward toward a common 
center; then follow lines of half-slant, etc., and com- 
binations of these, exercises with the falling slant 
preceding those with the rising slant. At first the out- 
lines of the corresponding squares and oblongs may be 
drawn, but gradually these are omitted. Another im- 
portant differentiation lies in the radiation of the slant- 
ing lines from a common center, and their symmetrical 
grouping around a common center, which is the center 
of 3i figure inclosed by the slanting lines.] 

At this point we reach an entirely new stage of 
drawing, which indicates at the same time a new stage 
of development in the pupil — the stage of invention, of 
the spontaneous representation of linear wholes with the 
help of all the lines lying within the law of the network. 

Invention is every spontaneous representation of the 
inner in and by the outer, adai5ting itself to given ex- 
ternal conditions, yet obeying an inner necessity easily 
recognized by the pupil himself. 



29J: TEE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

The presentation of a course of study for the inven- 
tion of figures is reserved for the next scholastic stage. 
Similarly, the presentation of the variously developing 
influence of this instruction on true human culture must 
be reserved for the latter part of a presentation of in- 
struction in drawing as a whole. 

Only he who has used this course of instruction, not 
only with others but also with himself, can truly appre- 
ciate its nature and effect. Indeed, this is the case with 
every kind of instruction which aims deliberately to 
awaken energy and life and to give skill and dexterity 
of representation. 

For the purposes of self-development and of the 
development of others, at least in essentials, these indi- 
cations will, however, suffice, especially for him who 
follows the course step by step, applying it to himself, 
and who thus finds within himseK its simple law. 

The use of this instruction would supply one of the 
greatest wants of our schools in town and country, and* 
should be introduced in them all. Every intelligent 
person who looks into the matter will clearly see this ; 
for this instruction addresses itself equally to the senses, 
and through them to the power of thought, and to ex- 
ternal manual activity. Thus, it avoids ennui and lack 
of occupation so pernicious to those from whom the 
teacher's attention is called away for a time. So much 
for the school ; but in addition to this it teaches the eye 
a knowledge of form and symmetry, and trains the hand 
in representing them ; and these find much to do in all 
relations and activities of practical life. Indeed, we 
have heard of late many impressive complaints concern- 
ing the great disadvantages resulting to our citizens, 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 295 

more particularly to the artisan and farmer, from the 
lack of development in the perception and representa- 
tion of form and symmetry. 

H. STUDY OF colors; COLORING OF OUTLINE-PICTURES; PAINTING IN 
THE NET-WORK. 

§ 96. Every one who is not a total stranger to boy- 
life will concede that children, particularly in early boy- 
hood, feel the need of a knowledge of colors and of 
some degree of occupation with pigments. 

This must be so. It is implied even in tlie general 
cause of all activity in the child, in the tendency to de- 
velop and exercise all his powers in all possible particu- 
lar phases. This is strengthened by a second reason, 
even weightier, so far as the inner spiritual develop- 
ment as sucli is concerned — by the intimate connection 
between color and light, by the fact that all colors are 
determined by greater or smaller degrees of light. 

Color and light again are most intimately connected 
with life-activity, with all that lifts and varies life. 
Even mere earthly light points to the heavenly light to 
which it owes its being and existence. 

Thus, the boy seems to notice or feel the high sig- 
nificance of color (as he did in another respect of form 
in nature) as an embodiment, as it were, of earthly light, 
of sunlight, as a visible revelation of its nature. The 
hope of thus obtaining with the aid of the colors an 
insight into the nature of earthly light, of sunlight, is 
possibly the true, innermost, though sub-conscious, 
motive of the boy in his eager occupation with colors ; 
indeed, the experience of boys positively corroborates 
this. 



296 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

It is said, indeed, that colors are variegated, and 
that it is this variegation that attracts children and gives 
them pleasure. 

Very well ; but what is variegation of color ? Is it 
not the effect of one cause (light) in various phases of 
appearance (colors) ? 

It is by no means external variegation that attracts 
the boy and gives him pleasure, for the possession of 
external variegation does not satisfy him, as, indeed, 
mere quantity never satisfies him ; the pleasure lies in 
the finding of the inner connection, in the power to 
spiritualize it. If it were otherwise, the boy would be 
satisfied when he is surrounded with an abundance, and 
a variety of things, and we should not so often hear the 
reproof addressed to him : " What in the world do you 
still want ; you have this and this and this, and yet you 
are not satisfied." 

The boy seeks unity of life, expression of life, con- 
nection of hfe — life, indeed. Therefore, variegation of 
color interests the child ; he is looking for unity in 
diversity, for inner connection. For this reason he 
likes to see colors in their combinations, in order to find 
the inner unity that makes them one. 

Yet, in spite of the high significance of this ten- 
dency in boyhood, we leave its development toward the 
knowledge and use of colors to merest chance. 

We give the boys, among many other things, also, 
paints and brushes, as one gives food to beasts, incon- 
siderately or good-naturedly ; and they throw them 
about like their other playthings, as the beasts do un- 
suitable food. 

What, indeed, should they do with them? They 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 297 

do not know how to give them life and unity ; and we 
do not help them. 

However distinct and different form and color may- 
be, to the young boy they are undivided, united, like 
the body and its life. Indeed, the idea of color seems 
to come to the boy, as it did possibly to mankind gen- 
erally, through form ; and, conversely, the forms are 
brought out and nearer through colors. Therefore, the 
notions of color and form should at first be united and 
undivided. 

Now, since form and color at first appear to the 
boy as an undivided whole — but mutually enhance and 
reveal each other — it is necessary in the development of 
the color-sense in man by means of observation and 
representation to consider three things : 

1. That the forms should be simple and definite, 
wholly adequate to the things to be designated and rep- 
resented. 

2. That the colors be as pure and distinct as possible, 
and corresponding with those of the object, particularly 
if it be a natural object. 

3. That the colors should be studied as nearly as 
possible in their actually natural relations, in their differ- 
ences and resemblances. 

As the colors themselves should be studied as defi- 
nitely as possible in their impressions, they should, too, 
be designated with equal definiteness in language : first, 
the color as such — e. g., red, green, etc. ; then its inten- 
sity — e. g., dark, bright, etc. ; then the variety of color ac- 
cording to kind and mixtm'e. In the last, two phases 
are noticed : first, a comparison with objects that show 
the color most frequently — e. g., rose-red {rosenroth), 

28 



298 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

sky-blue, etc. ; secondly, a comparison of colors among 
themselves — e. g., green-yellow {grun-gelh), or, approxi- 
mately, greenish yellow, etc. 

Generally, all color distinctions should be based on 
natural objects in which these colors prevail most con- 
stantly; if they have been understood, they may be 
transferred to the colors of other objects. 

Colors, whose names are derived from objects, should 
have been observed frequently in the objects themselves 
— e. g., violet-blue. 

In the beginning, only a few distinctions are made, 
but these should be adhered to strictly and constantly. 
Similarly the boy should receive for use only a few, 
but clearly defined, colors. The secondary colors should, 
later, as far as possible, be made by the pupil himself 
from the primary colors. 

The figures to be painted should, particularly in the 
beginning, not be too small, and if possible point to 
natural objects, as indeed all instruction should start 
from objects in the pupil's surroundings — e. g., leaves, 
large flowers, wings of butterflies, even birds. The 
colors of quadrupeds and of fish are too indefinite. 

However, the effort to represent natural objects in 
their peculiar colors will direct the pupil's attention 
more and more to their actual colore, as is indicated by 
questions like these : " How shall I paint the trunk of 
this tree, this flower," etc. ? 

The more the notions of colors are separated from 
objects, the more it will become desirable to represent 
the colors for their own sake, but still in definite forms. 

When colors come to be viewed wholly independent 
from fonn, form steps wholly into the background. The 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 299 

form of representation, for a number of practical rea- 
sons, is based on the square network. 

The coloring material is best chosen from the vege- 
table pigments. 

The instruction itself is easily connected with the 
boy's life ; a hundred opportunities present themselves ; 
every circle offers its own peculiar starting-points. 
Properly conducted, the instruction will take root in the 
children's life, and will itself live. 

I shall write down what I saw and see. The more 
favorable the circumstances, the better the beginning ; 
however, circumstances may not be made but only 
used. 

About a dozen boys of suitable age are gathered 
around their teacher like sheeji around their shepherd. 
As the shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures, so 
the teacher is to lead the boys to joyous activity. It is 
Wednesday afternoon, when there is no ordinary school 
instruction ; but to-day there is no call for other activity. 
It is fall, and the desire to paint has often been ex- 
pressed by each one of these active boys. Perhaps fall 
invites the boys most urgently to paint, because the 
colors in nature are most varied and massive in the 
latter part of fall ; and each one has probably tried in 
his own way to obey the summons. 

" Come, let us paint," the teacher says. " It is true, 
you have painted a great deal ; but painting itself and 
the things you painted did not seem to please you long, 
for you did not paint in distinct and pure colors. Come, 
let us see if we can not do better together." " Now, 
what shall we paint? What is easy enough for us? 



300 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

For we are to learn, and what we paint should be 
simple, and of one color if possible." 

Teacher and pupils decide quickly that it is easiest 
to paint leaves, flowers, or fruits. Leaves are chosen ; 
for the beautiful, bright red, yellow, etc., trees, and the 
gorgeous leaves which in perfect fall days float with a 
gentle rustle from the branches, and deck the ground 
with a brilliant carpet, have been keenly noticed by the 
boys, and often they have bound them in wreaths and 
brought them home. 

" Here are outlines of leaves " (the teacher had pre- 
pared them for the purpose) ; " how will you paint them ? " 
"Green." "Ked." "Yellow." "Brown." "Which 
leaves will you paint green, red, etc. ? " " Why ? " 

The teacher then distributes the paints, properly 
prepared. First, the colors are correctly designated. 
It need, however, scarcely be mentioned that — inasmuch 
as the representation of the object is the secondary, and 
the knowledge and treatment of the colors the primary 
consideration — we can not expect to do more than to 
give the leaves approximately exact coloring. For the 
present, even distribution of the color, keeping within 
the lines, etc., are as yet the most important concerns ; 
the proper position of the body, in order to insure free 
movement of arm, hand, and finger, is a matter to be 
attended to, of course. 

Inasmuch as each pigment requires its own treat- 
ment, we do not pass from one color to the next until 
the pupil has attained some proficiency in the use of 
the former. 

From leaves we proceed to flowers. We choose 
flowers with large monopetalous corollas of only one or 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 301 

a few ver}'^ distinct colors — e. g., blue campanulas, yellow 
primroses, etc. Simple flowers are preferred to double 
ones, and tbey are iirst painted in full front view or 
full profile. 

"We should constantly keep in view conscious efforts 
to distinguish colors as accurately as possible, to repre- 
sent them in the greatest possible purity, and to name 
them as clearly as possible ; although at this stage of 
development these things will still be done quite im- 
perfectly. The pupil's feelings are awakened, and he 
aspires to understand the relation of one color to an- 
other. Thus color is more and more absti-acted from 
form, and may be observed more and more independ- 
ently. The pupil, too, begins to take more interest in 
each color, and seeks to enter fully into its character ; 
for he wants to control it, and feels the inadequacy of 
his present knowledge and skill. 

This calls for the representation of colors as such, 
without essential reference to form, in figures derived 
from the network. 

The first consideration in these exercises is to paint 
the surfaces evenly and sharply, progressing from 
smaller to larger surfaces. Therefore, we first paint 
with each color surfaces of one square, then of two to 
five squares, either continuous (i. e., in rows touching 
each other edge to edge) or interrupted (i. e., in rows 
touching each other comer to comer). By this proced- 
ure, the pupil becomes thoroughly familiar with the 
peculiarities and treatment of each color. 

These exercises begin with pure red, blue, and yel- 
low ; they conclude with the pure secondary colors, pure 
green, orange, and violet. 



302 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

The series begins with red and green, because experi- 
ence teaches that these two colors are most interesting 
to boys. 

Similarly, in the subsequent exercises, two, three, 
and finally all the six colors are used in continuous (edge 
to edge) or interrupted (corner to corner) series— in two 
principal arrangements — so that either the long sides of 
the colored forms or their short sides touch. The order 
of the colors most fully in accordance with nature at 
large is now from blue to green, yellow, orange, red, 
and violet. 

The last phases at this stage of development are four 
color-groups, similar to the two line-groups in the draw- 
ing of lines. These are derived in accordance with one 
law from the thing itself, and present the series of 
colors in all directions implied by the network with 
reference to some given center. 

These four color-groups appear again in two sets. 
Either the various equal-colored rectangles touch one an- 
other at their long sides, appearing in horizontal or ver- 
tical position sharply defined, or the various colored 
series, lying in the direction of the diagonals of the 
squares, the component squares touching only in the 
corners, fit into one another (like the teeth of two saws). 

In each of these sets there are two members. In 
one of these, the various series proceed from a visible 
center ; in the other, they are arranged around an invisi- 
ble center, or, rather, inclose it. 

These four groups close the course at this stage. 
The next stage would comprise — as in the case of the 
invention of figures in drawing — the free invention of 
color-groups, the study of colors in their various de- 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 303 

grees of intensity and tint, and tlie study and repre- 
sentation of natural forms in the square network. 

However limited the preceding course in this sub- 
ject, experience proves that it has quite an influence on 
the scholar. Like song, it lifts man into a nobler moral 
atmosphere, quickens the color-sense, and enhances in- 
terest in nature and life. Its further connection with 
other subjects, as well as with practical life, will be clear 
to him who appreciates the requisites of these things. 

I. PLAY, OR SPONTANEOUS KEPRESENTATIONS AND EXERCISES OF ALL 

KINDS. 

§ 97. To the many things said about play, I would 
add the following : The plays or spontaneous occupa- 
tions of this period of boyhood differ in three ways. 
They are either imitations of life and of the phenomena 
of actual life, or they are spontaneous applications of 
what has been learned at school, or they are perfectly 
spontaneous products of the mind, of any description, 
and with all kinds of material. The last either seek 
the laws lying in the material of the play, and adapt 
themselves to these, or they obey laws lying in the 
thought and feelings of the human being. In every 
case, however, the normal plays of this period are the 
pure outcome of vital energy and buoyancy (see § 49). 

The plays of this period, therefore, imply inner life 
and vigor — an actual external life. Where this is lack- 
ing, there can not be true play which, itself full of 
genuine life, can arouse, feed, and elevate life. 

This explains the remark of a young man who had 
been zealous and inventive in these plays of boyhood. 



30i THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

He said, concerning some boys tliat seemed to have lost 
all zest for such plays : " It is strange to me that these 
boys can not play ; how vigorously we played at this 
age ! " 

This shows clearly that even the plays of this age 
should be under special guidance, and the boy made fit 
for them — i. e., his life at school and out of it should be 
rendered so rich that, like a swelling bud, it will burst 
forth from within for joy and in joy. Joy is the soul 
of every activity of boyhood at this period. 

The plays themselves are physical plays, either as 
exercises of strength and dexterity, or as the mere ex- 
pressions of buoyancy of spirits ; sense plays, exercis- 
ing hearing, sight, etc. ; or intellectual plays, exercising 
reflection and judgment. 

[In the hands of thoughtful kindergartners, the social game has 
become a powerful aid in the guidance of social development. The 
children learn to use the several games as it were like common play- 
things, with the help of which they may, as a social body, give 
expression to their collective ideas on matters of social concern. 

The teacher, for this purpose, does not teach the game in a cer- 
tain fixed way, using the children, as it were, to carry out the inten- 
tions of the game. Indeed, were she to do this, each child would in 
an individual way, and without reference to others, learn to play the 
game as he would a lesson, and then lose active interest in it. She 
plays the games at first quite simply, sometimes at the table, some- 
times in the ring, teaching the children how to represent the simplest 
things she may find in their minds concerning the subject involved. 
Subsequently she progresses quite gradually, adding from time to 
time new facts and relations, gained by observation or instruction, 
frequently modifying the games in order to represent the various 
facts from new standpoints or in more complex relationships. 

This will induce and encourage the children in due time to 
bring to bear in their plays the results of their own observations, and 
to suggest modifications and additions in accordance with their 
growing knowledge and interest. Thus the game will grow with 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 305 

their growth in social insight and power, and will become an ade- 
quate expression of their inner development in this direction. — Ti-J] 

J. NARRATION OF STORIES AND LEGENDS, FABLES AND FAIRY TALES, ETC. 

§ 98. Man understands other things, the life of 
others, and the effects of other powers onlj in so far as 
he understands himself, his own power, and his own 
life. Therefore, the highest and most important ex- 
periences of a boy of this age (as well, perhaps, as of 
man generally) are, the sensation and feeling of his 
own life in his own breast, his own thinking and will- 
ing, though they manifest themselves ever so vaguely 
and almost as a mere instinct. 

But knowledge of a thing can never be attained by 
comparing it with itself. Therefore, too, the boy can 
not attain any knowledge of the nature, cause, and 
effect of the meaning of his own life, by comparing his 
own transient individual life with itself. He needs 
for clearness concerning this, comparison with some- 
thing else and with some one else; and surely every- 
body knows that comparisons with somewhat remote 
objects are more effective than those with very near 
objects. 

Only the study of the life of others can furnish such 
points of comparison with the life he himself has ex- 
perienced. In these the boy, endowed with an active 
life of his own, can view the latter as in a mirror, and 
learn to appreciate its value. 

It is the innermost desire and need of a vigorous, 
genuine boy to understand his own life, to get a knowl- 
edge of its nature, its origin, and outcome. If he fails 
in this, the sensation of his own life either crushes him 



30G THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

or carries him on headlong, without purpose and irre- 
sistibly. 

This is the chief reason why boys are so fond of 
stories, legends, and tales ; the more so when these are 
told as having actually occurred at some time, or as 
lying within the reach of probability for which, how- 
ever, there are scarcely any limits for a boy. 

The power that has scarcely germinated in the boy's 
mind is seen by him in the legend or tale, a perfect 
plant filled with the most delicious blossoms and fruits. 
The very remoteness of the comparison with his own 
vague hopes expands heart and soul, strengthens the 
mind, unfolds life in freedom and power. 

As in color, it is not variegated hues that charm the 
boy, but their deeper, invisible, spiritual meaning ; so he 
is attracted to the legend and fairy tale, not by the 
varied and gay shapes that move about in them, but by 
their spiritual life, which furnishes him with a measure 
for his own life and spirit, by the fact that they furnish 
him direct intuitions of free life, of a force sponta- 
neously active in accordance with its own law. 

The story concerns other men, other circumstances, 
other times and places, nay, wholly different forms ; yet 
the hearer seeks his own image, he beholds it, and no 
one knows that he sees it. 

Are there not many persons who have seen and 
heard how children at an earlier period asked their 
mother again and again to tell them the simplest story, 
which they had heard half a dozen times — e. g., the 
story of a singing and fluttering bird, building its nest 
and feeding its young? 

Even boys do the same. " Tell us a story," is the 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 307 

request of a crowd of eager listeners to some companion 
who has proved his art. " I do not know any more ; 
I have told you all I know." " Well, then, tell us this 
or that story." " I have told it two or three times." 
" That makes no dlii'erence ; tell it again." He obeys; 
see how eagerly his hearers note every word, as if they 
had never before heard it. 

It is not the desire for mental indolence that leads 
the vigorous boy to the telling of stories and makes him 
a pleased hstener. You can see how eager he is, how a 
genuine story-teller stirs the inner life of his hearer, to 
try its strength, as it were. This proves that a higher 
spiritual life hes in the story, that it is not its gay and 
changing shapes that attract the boy, that through them 
mind speaks directly to mind. 

Therefore, ear and heart open to the genuine story- 
teller, as the blossoms open to the sun of spring and to 
the vernal rain. Mind breathes mind ; power feels 
power and absorbs it, as it were. The telling of stories 
refreshes the mind as a bath refreshes the body ; it gives 
exercise to the intellect and its powers; it tests the 
judgment and the feelings. 

Hence, too, genuine, effective story-telling is not 
easy ; for the story-teller must wholly take into himself 
the life of which he speaks, must let it live and operate 
in himself freely. He must reproduce it whole and un- 
diminished, and yet stand superior to Hfe as it actually is. 

It is this that makes the genuine story-teller. 
Therefore, only early youth and old age furnish good 
story-tellers. The mother knows how to tell stories — she 
who lives only in and with the child, and has no care 
beyond that of fostering his life. 



308 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

The husband and father, fettered by life, compelled 
to face the cares and wants of daily life, will rarely be a 
good story-teller, pleasing to the children, influencing, 
strengthening, and lifting their lives. 

The brother or sister, only a few years older, both 
still unacquainted with life in its stern realities, not yet 
fettered or hardened by it, still standing outside of it, as 
it were; the grandfather, with his wide experience, 
raised superior to life, having rid himself of its hard 
exterior ; or the old tried servant, whose heart is full of 
contentment in the consciousness of duty well done — 
these are the favorites with an audience of boys. 

ISTo practical application need be added, no moral 
brought out ; the related incident of life, in itself, in what- 
ever form it may appear, in its causes and consequences, 
makes a deeper impression than any added words could 
do ; for who can know the needs of the wholly opened 
soul, of stimulated, wholly self-conscious life. 

We do not tell our children enough stories ; at best, 
little stories whose heroes are mechanical contrivances, 
puppets which we have whittled or stuifed ourselves. 

A good story-teller is a precious boon. Blessed is 
the circle of boys that can enjoy him ; his influence is 
great and ennobling ; the more so, the less he seems to 
aim at this. With high esteem and full of respect I 
greet a genuine story-teller; with intense gratitude I 
grasp him by the hand. However, better greeting than 
mine is his lot ; behold the joyful faces, the sparkling 
eyes, the merry shouts that welcome him ; see the 
blooming circle of delighted boys crowd around him, 
like a wreath of fresh flowers and branches around the 
bard of joy and delight. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 309 

However, boys of this age are benefited by mental 
activity, especially in connection with physical action. 
Therefore, the roused and stimulated inner life should 
at once find an external object on which it can manifest 
and, as it were, perpetuate itself. 

Therefore, with boys of this age, the hearing of 
stories should always be connected with some activ-- 
ity for the production of some external work on their 
part. 

Again the story, in order to be especially effective 
and impressive, should be connected with the events 
and occurrences of life. One of the least significant 
occurrences in the neighbor's hfe is developed to-day 
into an event of such importance that it determines not 
only his inner peace, as well as his external prosperity, 
but influences also the Kfe of many others. 

Whatever similar experience lies in the scope of 
the life of each individual, or may have happened to 
his friends, is connected with this event of the day. 
Behold how the attention of each boy, under the influ- 
,ence of inner excitement, is wholly given to the event 
in question. Every story seems to him a new conquest, 
a fresh treasure ; and whatever it shows and teaches 
he adds to his own life for his advancement and in- 
struction. 

K. SHORT EXCURSIONS AND WALKS. 

§ 99. Out-door life, in open nature, is particularly 
desirable for young people ; it develops, strengthens, 
elevates, and ennobles. It imparts life and a higher 
significance to all things. For this reason, short excur- 
sions and walks are excellent educational means, to be 
29 



310 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

highly esteemed even in the beginning of boy- and 
school-hfe (see § 64). 

If man is fully to attain his destiny, so far as earthly 
development will permit this, if he is to become truly 
an unbroken living unit, he must feel and know him- 
self to be one, not only with God and humanity, but 
also with nature. 

The feeling of oneness, in order to become a unit 
in himself, must be developed early in man. He must 
feel the connection between the development of nature 
and of man, between the phenomena of nature and of 
humanity in their mutual relations — e. g., the differ- 
ent impressions made on the same human being, by 
external natural causes and by internal human causes, 
so that man may appreciate as fully as possible the 
character and phenomena of nature, and that she 
may ever more become to him a guide to higher per- 
fection. 

All shorter and longer excursions and all observa- 
tions they involve should be made in this spirit of har- 
mony, unity, and living oneness of all natural phe- 
nomena, and in the conviction how necessarily, because 
of the nature of life and force as such, unity comes 
from multij)licity, simplicity from complexity, that 
which in its impression is great from the apparently 
small. 

Therefore, all boys are in such a hurry to get for- 
ward on their excursions ; they desire quickly to take in 
a great unit. The search for details is the more interest- 
ing the more fully a relatively greater unit has been 
previously grasped, though this need by no means be 
the greatest possible whole. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 311 

Tliese excursions should enable the boy to see as a 
whole the district in which he lives, and to feel that 
nature herself is a constant whole. 

Without this, excursions would yield no direct 
spiritual benefit. They would repress instead of quick- 
ening ; they would waste instead of enriching life. 

Man considers the surrounding atmosphere as a part 
of himself, and gains bodily health by inhaling the pure 
air. Similarly he should look upon surrounding nature 
as a part of himself, and breathe in the Divine Spirit 
that dwells therein. 

Therefore, the boy should early see the objects of 
nature in their actual relations and original combina- 
tions. His excursions are to show him his valley in its 
whole extent ; he should explore its ramifications ; he 
should follow his brook or rivulet from its som'ce to its 
mouth, and study its local peculiarities in their causes ; 
he should explore the elevated ridges, so that he may 
see the ranges and spurs of the mountains ; he should 
climb the highest immmits, so that he may know and 
understand the entire region in its unity. 

Actual inspection should reveal to him the mutual 
relations of mountain and valley and river in their form 
and formation. He should see in their native places 
the products of mountain, valley, and plain, of the earth 
and of the water ; he should in the higher regions seek 
the former homes of the stones he found in the fields 
and river-beds of the lowlands. 

In these excursions the boys should see the animals 
and plants in their life, as it were ; they should ob- 
serve them in their natural abodes, some basking in the 
sun and drinking in light and warmth, others hiding in 



312 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

darkness and shade, seeking coolness and moisture. 
They should seek to determine to what extent the 
abode -and food of living things affect their color and 
even their form ; how, for instance, the caterpillar, the 
butterfly, and other insects, in form and color, are con- 
nected with the plants to which they seem to belong. 
He should not fail to notice how this external resem- 
blance serves to protect the animals, and how higher 
animals almost intentionally make use of such resem- 
blances ; how, for instance, certain birds build their nests 
on trees whose color is scarcely to be distinguished from 
that of the nests ; how, indeed, the color-expression of 
animals harmonizes with the character of the time of 
day when they are most active, or with the activity of 
the sun — e. g., the brilliant colors of butterflies, the dull 
colors of moths, etc. 

This direct and independent observation of the 
things themselves, and of their actual living connection 
in nature, and not the mere explanation of words and 
ideas which are of no interest to the boy, should awaken 
in him,, vaguely at first but ever more and more clearly, 
the great thought of the inner, constant, living unity of 
all things and phenomena in nature. 

In these excursions he should see man, too, in his 
unity with nature — first, in his daily life, his occupations 
and callings, later in his social circumstances, his charac- 
ter, his mode of thought and action, his manners, cus- 
toms, and language. 

However, this should be left in actual life, as well as 
in our hints on the subject, to later stages of develop- 
ment in boyhood and youth. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 313 

In considering the means of instruction, directly im- 
plied in man's tendency of development, as well as the 
method of instruction thereby conditioned, we were con- 
fronted clearly and distinctly, as necessarily proceeding 
from the observation of the external world and from 
language-exercises, by the demands for the study of 
number, of forms of speaking (grammatical exercises), 
of writing and of reading ; we found, too, indications of 
the jDoints from which these particular subjects proceed 
naturally. 

Inasmuch as these subjects of instruction, according 
to their nature, have to be taken up later than those 
which we have treated, and not before the subjects 
on which they depend have been carried to a certain 
point, their special consideration has been postponed, so 
that all the others might first be fully presented. 

But the subjects named belong to the second half of 
the period of boyhood under consideration. Therefore, 
their special treatment must now be taken up. 

L. ARITHMETIC. 

§ 100. The development of number, the abstraction 
of number ideas from objects, and the growth of skill 
in counting, at least up to ten or twenty — these things 
have been clearly presented and often employed in the 
previous considerations (see §§ 38, Y5). 

This varied use of number soon presents to the 
pupil the necessity of a more thorough, more compre- 
hensive and varied knowledge of number, and he wel- 
comes arithmetic as a special subject of instruction with 
pleasure as a needed help. 



314 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

This is right. No new subject of instruction should 
be brought to the pupil unless he at least feels vaguely 
that it is based and how it is based on previous work, 
how it is applied in this, and that it satisfies a men- 
tal need. 

Number, in its forms of multiplicity and size, reveals 
to the first glance the property it shares with many 
things, particularly with things of nature, the property 
of a double origin — from without by accumulation, and 
from within by growth or development. 

But, as it shares with objects of nature their mode of 
origin, so it shares with them also the property of tran- 
siency, of annihilation ; and this, too, shows itself in 
two phases, that of destruction from without, and that 
of dissolution from within. 

Wherever there is a beginning and a ceasing, in- 
crease and decrease, there is also comparison ; and, of 
course, again, a merely external and a more internal 
comparison, a comparison according to an externally 
visible law, and another according to an internally per- 
ceptible law. 

Thus arithmetic will have to consider the increase, 
diminution (annihilation), and comparison of numbers — 
each according to an outer and an inner law. 

The intimate connection between number and nature 
and their laws, as just indicated, is so prominent in our 
time, which is entering so thoroughly into the study of 
nature, that a natural and rational study and treatment 
of number forced men even fifteen years ago to accept 
the terms inorganic and organic formation, diminution 
and comparison of numbers {vide Joseph Schmid's 
"Number," 1810). 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 315 

Aritlimetic, as well as all instruction, should meet 
not onlj the feeling, earlj aroused in the boyhood of 
man, that natural laws prevail in many ways in human 
life, thought, and action, but also the feeling that there 
is a living and necessary conformity to law in all 
things ; therefore, it should constantly direct the atten- 
tion to the laws of number, render them prominent, and 
enable the pupil to see them clearly. 

The prominence and the vivid and varied percep- 
tion of numerical laws on the one hand, and practice in 
the quick comprehension and understanding of nu- 
merical relations on the other, are both equally impor- 
tant and should receive equal attention. The pupil at 
this stage should not only be quick in numbers, but 
should readily see and understand numerical relations. 
Therefore, it is most desirable in this as in all similar 
instruction to secure clear comprehension by means of 
self -active representation of the quantities ; practice and 
repeated application ; surveys of the whole subject ; the 
prominent bringing out and discussion of particular 
points. 

The course of instruction is indicated in these 
words, and can be easily prepared. For this reason, and 
because Joseph Schmid's arithmetical method is quite 
widely known and followed, I limit myseK to only a 
few hints in the following : 

{Translator's Synopsis. — Froebel first (1) bases the 
work on previous knowledge ; for this purpose he sug- 
gests exercises in counting forward or backward, con- 
tinuously or with omissions from one to twenty. He 
next (2) presents the numbers from one to ten as a con- 



316 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

tinuoiis whole. The pupils couut from one to ten, 
maldng at each number as many vertical lines as the 
number indicates, in vertical arrangement, thus : 



.III, etc. 

Tliis is followed by general exercises, fixing the re- 
lation between the word and the number. Pointing to 
the marks they have made, they say, starting with the 
word or numeral: One is one one, two is two ones, 
three is three ones, etc. Starting next with the number, 
they say : One one is one, two ones are two, three ones 
are three, etc. Considering, at last, the number ab- 
stractly, they say : One is one, two is two, three is 
three, etc. 

In the third place (3) are exercises distinguishing the 
odd and even numbers. Reading through the column, all 
say : One is neither odd nor even ; two is an even num- 
ber; three is an odd number, etc. Froebel adds here 
by wav of parenthesis : " It is well to direct the pupil's 
attention here at once to a great far-reaching law of 
nature and of thought. It is this, that between two 
relatively diiferent things or ideas there stands always 
a third, in a sort of balance, seeming to unite the 
two. Thus, there is here between odd and even num- 
bers one number (one) which is neither of the two. 
Similarly, in form, the right angle stands between the 
acute and obtuse angles ; and in language, the semi- 
vowels or aspirants between the mutes and vowels. 
A thoughtful teacher and a pupil taught to think 
for himself can scarcely help noticing this and other 
important laws." 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 317 

Pie then has the pupils to represent with lines all 
the even numbers from two to ten, again in vertical ar- 
rangement, and has this learned as tlie natural order of 
even numbers in ten. The same is done with the odd 
numbers. As soon as some pupils have represented the 
series on their slates, the teacher represents it on the 
blackboard, and fixes it by pointing to certain numbers, 
and having the children designate their places in the 
series, etc. 

This is followed (4) by exercises in addition. In the 
first exercise, the pupils add I to each number of the 
first ten (I and 1 are II), by which they obtain the series 
from two to eleven ; in the second exercise, they add I to 
each even number in the first ten, obtaining a series of 
odd numbers ; in the third exercise I is added to each 
odd number. Then follow similar exercises with the 
addition of 11, III, etc., and an exercise in which to 
each number is added the succeeding number in the 
series, yielding a table in vertical arrangement : I and* 
II are 111, II and III are Hill, etc., up to nineteen. 

Then follow exercises in the addition of three and 
more numbers, proceeding in every case deliberately and 
thoroughly, and not exceeding thirty in the sums ; and 
at last the consideration of special questions, such as : 
Wliat is the sum of all numbers from 1 to 10 ? What 
is the sum of all even numbers between 1 and 10? 
What is the sum of the first and last numbers in the 
series 1 to 10 ? Of the second and last but one ? etc. 

In the fifth place (5), he presents exercises for the 
study of compound numbers. The pupils are taught to 
look upon each number of the series 1 to 10 as a unit, a 
whole. Teacher and pupils read their table : One (I) is a 



318 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

simple unit, two (II) is a compound unit, etc. Tliej 
represent a number of twos, threes, etc., on the slate. 
They make a series of all the twos from one tw^o [1 (2) ] 
to ten twos [10 (2) ],* and read this in a variety of 
ways — e. g., one two (I I) is neither an odd nor an even 
number of twos; two twos (II II) is an even num- 
ber of twos; three twos (II II II) is an odd number of 
twos, etc. 

Then follow (6) exercises to represent numbers in 
all possible forms — e. g. : Two as two ones (I I) or as one 
two (II); three as one three (III), one two and one one 
(II 1), three ones (I I I), etc. Froebel lays stress upon 
the foreshadowing of an important law, which is, how- 
ever, merely to guide the teacher at this stage of the 
work, and whose development with the pupils is left to 
a subsequent stage. He formulates this law as follows : 
" Every number always gives t^vice as many combina- 
tions (including those differing merely in the arrange- 
ment of component numbers) as its predecessor in the 
series ; or, the number of combinations of the com- 
ponent parts of any number is obtained if two (2) is 
raised to the power indicated by the number in ques- 
tion less one — e. g. : 4 yields 2*~^ or 2^ = 8 combina- 
tions." 

Subtraction (7), or the diminution of the number 
from without, is carried on similarly. 

For multiplication (8), or the development of the 
number from within, Froebel starts again with the 
series of numbers from 1 to 10. The pupil is then re- 
quired to take each number once, or " as often as one 
has units," obtaining a vertical arrangement like the 
following : 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 319 

1,1,1 
II , I , II 

III , I , II! etc. 

This is read in a variety of ways, as : 1 1 taken as 
often as I has units gives II; or, II repeated in the law 
of I gives 1 1 ; or, two increased by the law of I gives 1 1 ; 
or, 1 1 taken I time (once) gives II; or, II I time (once) 
gives II ; or, II times I is II. In this way, a variety of 
multiplication tables are made and read, and a number 
of arithmetical laws developed. 

Similarly (9), the squares of the numbers and their 
roots are found and fixed ; then (10) all possible com- 
binations in which a number may be obtained through 
multiplication are studied — 10 is 10 (1), 1 (10), 2 (5), 
5 (2) ; this is followed by division (11) and measure- 
ment, and the comparison of numbers (12 and 13) in 
accordance with their outer and inner law,] 

M. FORM-LESSONS (GEOMETRY). 

§ 101. As formerly indicated, the observation of 
the outer world and language-exercises already led to 
the consideration and study of form. Yet the objects 
of the outer world usually exhibit fonn in such variety 
and complication, and their forms are so difficult to 
analyze and define, that the study of form itself always 
leads to the consideration of objects with simple forms, 
to objects bounded by simple planes with equal and 
right angles. 

A knowledge of any form always implies ultimately 
a knowledge of lines, and forms are examined and 
determined through the mediation of straight lines. 
Therefore, in the study of objects with reference to 



320 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

their form, curvilinear objects are soon laid aside, and 
rectilinear objects at first chosen — e. g., curved are the 
surface of a cylindrical stove, a watch-glass, the rim of 
an inkstand ; plane and straight are the jambs of the 
doors and windows, the window-sash, the frame of the 
looking-glass. 

Again, objects as well as their parts and outlines 
are considered with reference to their position and 
direction — e. g., the two long and the two short pieces 
of the window-frame are respectively parallel / a long 
and a short piece of the window-frame are respectively 
2?erpendicular, etc. 

[^Translator'' s Synopsis, — Similar material for study 
is afforded by the table-legs and other parts of the table, 
the sides, floor, and ceiling of the room, etc. The con- 
sideration of these complex rectilinear objects is fol- 
lowed by the consideration of simple rectilinear objects 
— cubes, prisms, pyramids, etc. When, through these 
exercises, linear outlines liave been made clear, the pupil 
feels the need of studying the linear relations as such. 
This study begins with the consideration of single lines 
with reference to their relative directions ; it then pro- 
ceeds to combinations of lines as to number of points in 
which they meet, and to tlieir direction with reference 
to the points of union. This is followed successively 
by the study of angles, of polygons, and at last of the 
circle. For lack of room and of cuts, Froebel does not 
present the details of the course, but promises to do so 
in the discussion of a later stage of development, a 
promise that was never realized. He insists, however, 
that at the present stage attention is to be given to fre- 
quent representation of figures, and the actual examina- 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 321 

tion of forms, rather than to the formulation of general 
truths ; that complicated relations and complex infer- 
ences should be avoided ; and that each form-relation 
should be studied independently, but in as many figures 
as possible, and in cpiite simple and familiar combina- 
tions. In conclusion, he points to the fact that the 
study of lines of equal inclination leads from form to 
free-hand drawing.] 

N. GRAMMATICAL EXERCISES. 

§ 102. We turn now again to a wholly different 
side of instruction. The subject of form-instruction is 
visible, permanent ; the subject of language is audible, 
transient. Thus the two objects are direct opposites, 
complementing each other, and therefore belong to- 
gether. The form represents the object ; language, 
too, tends to represent and picture the object. 

It was the purpose of the language-exercises to se- 
cure correct and clear ideas of the thine-s of the outer 

o 

world, and to have them represented precisely and 
definitely by language. The grammatical exercises are 
concerned with language as material of representation, 
with exercises leading to the knowledge and correct use 
of this audible material, and with the study and practice 
of the manner in which man with the aid of his organs 
of speech seems to create and form this material. 

Therefore, grammatical exercises consider the xoord 
as such irrespective of the thing it designates ; their 
purpose is to give the pupil a knowledge of language 
considered as material. 

This leads necessarily to the formerly indicated con- 
nection of language, particularly of - the original word 
30 



322 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

and its parts with the objects and their qualities, to the 
study of the contrasts and resemblances between lan- 
guage and object : it leads to etymology as a new sub- 
ject of instruction. 

{^Translator'' s Synopsis. — Froebel here maps out the 
following succession of points for the course of study. 
The first consideration is the size of the word, which is 
determined by the number of its syllables • this is fol- 
lowed by the consideration of vowels, which form the 
constant element of syllables. The vowels are simple 
or complex, and the former again are primitive or de- 
rivative. This leads to the observation of the use of the 
organs of speech in producing the various vowel-sounds, 
and shows that the pm-ity and distinctness of the sound 
depend on the proper position and shape of the cavity 
of the mouth, etc. Then follows the study of the con- 
sonants, which are first classed as mutes and sonants / 
and then grouped as nasals, lahials, Unguals, dentals, 
palatals, gutturals, etc. Lastly, the diiierent degrees of 
intensity of force required in the production of the 
various consonauts are noted. Thus the pupil gradually 
finds that clear pronunciation and speech imply the 
proper use of the organs of speech, and gains conscious 
control of these.] There is, too, developed in him the 
feeling of an inner living connection that unites the 
activities of the mind, of the body, and of nature, for 
language as a mental product through the activity of the 
body furnishes him satisfactory representations of his 
inner and outer worlds. 

{Translator'' s Synopsis. — The next section of this 
paragraph contains a few suggestions for carrying out 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 323 

this course. Teacher and pupil first speak words of one, 
then of two syllables, etc., slowly, deliberately separat- 
ing the syllables, accompanying each syllable with a 
clap of the hands, and then following up the pronuncia- 
tion of each word with the number of claps of the hand 
indicated by the number of syllables — e. g. : 

Teacher or j says : foot . . . one K j win-dow . . . one, two } . 
pupil i claps: (-)...(-)[ i{ ) . . . (-) (-)['' 

Froebel attaches importance to the clapping with the 
hands, which makes the midible separation of the word 
visible in the clapping on the teacher's part, and sensible 
in the clapping on the pupil's j)art. 

In order to direct the pupil's attention to the vowels, 
Froebel would have the teacher and pupil pronounce 
successively and together monosyllabic words ending in 
vowel-sounds, and after each word speak the vowel- 
sound separately — e. g. : me — e, he — e, etc. Then 
words are found that begin with this sound (eel, each, 
east, etc.) ; then words that contain the vowels (bead, 
read, etc.). Subsequently the fact is brought out that 
there are no monosyllabic words that do not contain 
some vowel ; polysyllabic words are similarly examined ; 
the prevalence of certain vowels in certain syllables is 
found ; the succession of certain vowels in the same 
word is observed ; the sonants and mutes are similarly 
studied, etc. Finally, tables of the various classes and 
groups of sounds are prepared, and a number of exer- 
cises are made giving ready control of these tables in 
the formation of words. 

The next requirement that forces itself upon our 
attention in this instruction is the art of writing, by 



324 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

which the "audible and transient sounds are made 
visible and permanent."] 

O. WRITING. 

§103. \TTandator\^ Synopsis. — By this Froebel 
does not mean penmanship as an art, but merely the 
skill to write legibly. For the beginning he suggests as 
most suitable the caj^ital Roman letters, because their 
forms please children, and because they can be readily 
made with the help of the horizontal, vertical, and slant- 
ing lines with which the child is already familiar. 

In the course of instruction he begins with the letter 
I (sounded E in German), carefully analyzing its form 
and lines ; then follow JST, M, E, U, O, A, etc. The intro- 
duction of each new letter is followed by the writing of 
as many combinations with previous letters as will yield 
true words. " The most important point is that at every 
step the pupil should apply the newly learned letter and 
combine it with formerly learned letters in as many 
ways as possible." 

From monosyllables he proceeds to polysyllables ; 
then the children are taught to write words and short 
sentences by dictation or otherwise. At this point he 
recommends that all that has been written on the slate 
should subsequently be copied on paper. This enables 
the teacher to correct the work ; to let pupils whose 
work has been corrected correct that of others; and 
leads to considerations of orthography. lie concludes 
the paragraph in the following words : 

When the pupil has reached the skill to represent in 
this way all the notions and ideas he possesses, and thus 



THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY. 325 

to represent his inner life, as it were, the purpose of 
this branch of instruction is accomplished ; for the cen- 
ter^ the universal fidcruin^ the human being has been 
found, and the possibility of the representation of his 
innermost soul at this period of development has been 
secured, as by means of lines in drawing, by means of 
colors in painting, by means of plastic material in model- 
ing, so here by means of words — transient in speech 
and permanent in writing. Thus, every stage of in- 
struction should in a certain sense form a complete 
whole, a complete representation of the human mind ; 
it should render possible the representation of some 
complete (external) whole with reference to man and in 
its relation to his mind. 

The fact that the pupil is required to copy on paper 
the corrected representation of his own thoughts or ob- 
servations printed by him on his slate soon leads him to 
see the use and feel the need of a more rapid mode of 
writing. At this point, the writing in script appears as 
the new subject of instruction, meeting a want which 
the pupil himself feels. It is the business of every 
form of instruction in its respective stage to arouse in 
the pupil a keen and definite feeling of the need of the 
next stage. The business of instruction in this suc- 
ceeding stage is then to meet this need as promptly and 
as fully as possible according to the requirements of 
sound mental development. 

In these two simple and important points, current 
methods of instruction are still quite deficient, as well 
as in other matters indicated in what has been said. 
It is the business of pedagogics to reveal these de- 
ficiencies beyond all doubt, and at the same time to 



326 TUE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

indicate a course of instruction which avoids these 
faults and shows a better way. 

p. BEADING. 

§ 104. [^Translator's Synopsis. — Reading is the con- 
verse of writing. They are opposites, like giving and 
taking ; and as taking implies giving, as, strictly speak- 
ing, one neither should nor can truly take who has not 
before given, so also in this case reading should follow 
writing. The course of instruction is implied in the 
nature of things. In fact, the boy can already read ; 
the writing of every word was followed by its reading, 
and in the copying exercises this was specially practiced ; 
so that reading in the ordinary sense now becomes quite 
easy, and the task of a year may be accomplished in a 
few days. 

The first thing to be done is to show the equivalence 
of the small Roman letters to tlie capital letters hereto- 
fore employed ; and to do this in such a way that the 
resemblances between the two kinds of letters may be 
seen even in their details. As a connecting exercise, 
Froebel recommends that the pupil copy passages from 
the reader in his usual capital letters, thus comparing 
the two styles of letters. 

The point to be reached at this stage is correct read- 
ing in pronunciation and punctuation, so that he may 
be able to understand the writing of others, and test the 
thoughts and feelings of others by what he himself has 
thought and felt. Higher, more expressive reading is 
relegated to the next stage of development.] 



YII. 

CONCLUSION. 

§ 105. Thus we liave sketclied the growth and de- 
velopment of man in all their phases and conditions 
from the first origin of his being and existence to the 
first years of boyhood. We have, too, surveyed in a 
general way in their living inner connection, their 
necessary mntnal dependence and natural ramifications, 
the important means by which man may be and should 
be developed in this period in accordance with the re- 
quirements of this period and of his being, if his goal 
is perfection. 

If we now survey all that has been determined and 
said so far in this connection, we see that many phases 
in the life of boyhood have as yet no specific, definite 
direction. Thus, the work with colors does not in any 
way mean to develop a future painter, neither is the 
work in singing intended to train a future musician. 
These occupations simply have the purpose to secure in 
the young human being all-sided development and un- 
folding of his nature ; they furnish in a general way 
the food so necessary for mental growth ; they are the 
ether in which his spirit breathes and lives in order to 
gain strength and scope, inasmuch as the mental tend- 



328 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

encies which God has given him, and which irresistibly 
unfold from his mind in all directions, will necessarily 
appear in great variety, and must be met and fostered 
in a corresponding variety of ways. 

Therefore, we ought at last to understand that we 
do great violence to boy-nature when we repress and 
supplant these normal many-sided mental tendencies in 
the growing human being ; when, in the belief of do- 
ing a service to God and man, and of promoting the 
future earthly prosperity, inner peace, and heavenly 
salvation of the boy, we cut off one or the other of 
these tendencies and graft others in their places. 

God neither ingrafts nor inoculates. lie develops 
the most trivial and imperfect things in continuously 
ascending series and in accordance with eternal self- 
grounded and self-developing laws. And God-likeness 
is and ought to be man's highest aim in thought and 
deed, especially when he stands in the fatherly relation 
to his children, as God does to man. 

We should consider, at least with reference to the 
education of our children, that the kingdom of God is 
the realm of the spiritual, and that consequently the 
spiritual in man, and therefore in our children, is at 
least a part of the kingdom of God. For this reason 
we should give our attention to the universal cultivation 
of the spiritual in our children, to the pure cultivation 
of the specifically human, which is the divine in indi- 
vidual manifestation ; for we may well be convinced 
that whoever has been cultivated to genuine humanity 
is also educated for every particular requirement and 
need in civil and social life. 

Many will say : " This is all very well for earlier 



CONCLUSION. 329 

periods, but our sons are too old for this — they are 
already in the last quarter of boyhood. What can they 
do with this general and rudimentary instruction? 
They need something definite, something that bears 
directly on their future vocation ; for the time is near 
when they will enter practical life, when they will have 
to earn their own living or help us in our business." 

It is true, our sons are rather old for what they are 
still to learn. But why did we not, when they were 
children and in early boyhood, supply the needs of 
their mmds ? Are the boys now to lose this develop- 
ment and cultivation for their whole lives? 

We may console omrselves with the illusion that 
when our boys have reached adult life they will have 
enough leisure to make up their losses. 

Fools that we are ! Our own soul refutes this, if 
we will but listen to what it says and study its meaning. 
Here and there a few things may indeed be retrieved ; 
but, in general, whatever of human education and devel- 
opment has been neglected in boyhood will never be 
retrieved. 

Shall we, men and fathers, and perhaps mothers, too, 
not at last be frank, and cease to conceal from ourselves 
the never-healing wounds and the permanently callous 
places in our disposition, the dark spots left in our souls 
by the ruthless extirpation of noble and elevating 
thoughts and feelings in the days of our misguided 
youth and boyhood ? Shall we never see that noble 
germs were at that time broken and withered, nay, 
killed in our souls ? And shall we not heed this for our 
children's sake ? 

We may fill an important office, we may have an 



330 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

extensive professional practice, we may have a lucrative 
business, we may be expert and energetic, we may pos- 
sess a high degree of social refinement ; but can all this 
keep us, when we are alone, from seeing the flaws and 
faults of our inner culture ? Can it destroy in us the 
feeling of incompleteness and imperfection chiefly due 
to our early education ? 

Therefore, even though our sons have reached the 
third or fourth stage of boyhood, if we would have 
them become competent, full men, and if they have not 
yet learned and unfolded what their age implies, they 
must necessarily return to the work of childhood and 
early boyhood, in order that they may yet do what can 
be done and retrieve what can be retrieved. 

Possibly our sons may thereby finish school-life a 
year or two later ; but is it not better that they should 
thereby attain a worthy aim rather than (by a more ex- 
peditious course) an illusory one ? 

We claim to be practical men, and we fail to un- 
derstand the requirements of genuine, tme, practical 
life. "We claim to be business men, and we vaunt our 
prudence and foresight, yet we do not comprehend 
the business that concerns us most, and prudence and 
foresight fail us where they are of so much impor- 
tance. 

We boast of our wealth of experience of life, and 
yet where it would yield delicious fruit we seem to 
possess so little. 

We disdain altogether to examine our own youth 
from which we might learn so much that would benefit 
our children. Yet this admonition, too, to turn back 
and observe our own youth and to keep our soul fresh 



CONCLUSION. 331 

and warm in eternal youth, lies in the words of Jesus : 
" Become as little children." 

Indeed, much that Jesus said to his time and con- 
temporaries, our inner spirit now says to us and to our 
time. What was said at the time of Jesus, and more 
particularly with reference to the beginning of a wholly 
new view of life, is now again spoken, as it were, to all 
mankind, and finds its application in all human relations 
with reference to the endeavors of man to attain a 
higher stage of human perfection. Thus, we are now 
told : " If you will not fullill in yourselves and in your 
children the spiritual requirements of childhood and 
boyhood, if you will not secure this for yourselves and 
your children, you will not attain what in the happiest, 
most blissful periods of your life caused your soul to 
swell with hope, what your heart yearned for in the 
noblest hours of your life, what lifts and ever lifted the 
souls, what tills and ever filled the hearts of the noblest 
human beings." 

When we concentrate in one point the elevation of 
culture which the human being has attained by the de- 
veloping education so far discussed, we find quite defi- 
nitely the following: The boy has reached the point of 
divining his independent spiritual self; he feels and 
knows himself as a spiritual whole. There has been 
aroused in him the ability to grasp a whole in its unity 
and in its diversity, as well as the abihty to represent 
outwardly a whole as such and in its necessary parts, to 
represent in and through outward diversity his own self 
in the unity and diversity of his being. 

Thus, we find the human being even at the earlier 
stages of boyhood fitted for the highest and most im- 



332 THE EDUCATION OF MAN. 

portant concern of mankind, for the fulfillment of his 
destiny and mission, which is the representation of the 
divine nature within him. 

To secure for this ability skill and directness, to 
lift it into full consciousness, to give it insight and 
clearness, and to exalt it into a life of creative freedom, 
is the business of the subsequent life of man in suc- 
cessive stages of development and cultivation. To dis- 
cuss ways and means for this, and to introduce these in 
the practice of life, is the purpose of a continuation of 
this work and of the author's life. 



THE END. 



